When Wishes Come True
by jina fate
Summary: Once upon a time, there were two twins, and they had a video game. Their happy life is changed forever when one twin makes a wish, with amazing consequences...Chapter Sixteen is finally up ! Oh, and by the way... Please please please review! Thanks!
1. Meet the Family

**When Wishes Come True**

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem, but I do own the OC characters in this story. They're mine, all mine! laughs maniacally O.o Hehehe okay then…. Oh, and I don't own the game boy company either. Or Harry Potter. Oh, by the way, I redid this. Hope you like the change. I certainly do!

_ Chap__ter One: Beginnings _

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"ARGH!!! _No_!!! NotLUCIUS!!! He's so innocent and monkly, why'd you stupid knights all have to go for him?!?"

A teenage girl was lying on her bed in her room, playing the videogame Fire Emblem on her game boy. She watched helplessly as one of the characters in the game took two fatal hits from an iron lance-wielding enemy knight, and she growled in frustration.

"I was so flippin' _CLOSE_ to beating the chapter this time!"

The girl groaned again, angrily turning off the game boy and throwing it a few inches away so that it bounced on her mattress a few times. She brushed her red-brown hair out of her brown eyes, which at the moment were narrowed in anger and frustration, and sat up. She stood up from her comfortable spot her bed and stretched to ease her tension. Suddenly she heard a knock on her door, and walked over to it. Halfway there, the knocker spoke.

"Loryn? Lor? Are you in mortal pain or something in there? 'Cause that's what it sounds like from over here." A teasing, medium-pitched male voice said. It was Loryn's twin brother, Oliver. They were close for siblings, not fighting nearly as often as their friends and their brothers or sisters did. Probably because their parents were rarely home, and they otherwise had no one to talk to there.

"Oh, shut up, Oliver. I'm fine, unless you count failing this chapter in my game for the sixteenth time as a good excuse for being in mortal pain." She replied.

"What did ya do this time?" he asked, coming in her room grinning.

"Nothing! It wasn't my fault!" she replied, rolling her eyes at his smugness.

Oliver snorted in disbelief. He looked almost identical to Loryn, although his much shorter hair (though it was long, by guy standards anyway, since it hung in his eyes) was a little blonder than hers, and he was several inches taller than her. He often told her since he was the older twin by a minute or two he had taken all the "tall" genes and left her to be the "short" twin. This drove her crazy, as she was always being picked on in school for her shortness. She was also the shy, quiet, unnoticeable and non-eye-catching twin. Oliver was outgoing, friendly, and well-liked and known. He was smart, too, though his grades reflected his unorganized ways and not his intelligence. She was very quiet and shy, and never spoke up much, letting her brother do most of the talking when she could.

Their parents were outgoing, successful business people with booming careers, who held stately dinner parties and other such formal business gatherings on a fairly frequent basis in their home, though they were usually on business trips most of the time, almost all of the time, actually. They adored their son, a near-carbon copy of his father, but they didn't really know how to act or react around their daughter, who didn't quite fit into the outgoing, loud, four member family. They tried to hide their lack of understanding about who she was from her, but she was too observant not to notice. It used to annoy her a lot when the twins were younger, as Oliver would always get personal, thoughtful items for his birthday and Christmas, while Loryn would get money, or a book. She didn't mind the books or the money, but she wished they had something more original. "Harry Potter" is not the easiest thing to read when you're seven or eight.

"Well, Loryn, if you keep failing the chapter, you're obviously doing something very wrong." Oliver said.

Loryn sighed. "Well, that's only a _little _obvious, don't you agree?" she said sarcastically. "Of course I did something very wrong. Otherwise, I would have won the battle by now!" she grumbled softly, never being a loud person, even when angry.

"Geez, no need to get all sarcastic on me, sis, I'm only trying to help."

"I'll never become a better tactician if I run to you for help all the time!" she replied, "I don't always need you to guide me through the chapter, you know!"

Oliver looked apologetic as he sat down on the edge of her bed. _Geez, someone's a _little_ touchy today…_he thought, and apparently his thoughts were reflected onto his features.

"Don't EVEN go there, Oliver!" she retorted. She wasn't really mad at him, (she never could be, not for long at any rate), and she cooled off a little quite quickly. She flopped back down onto her bed and looked up at her twilight blue walls and ceiling.

"Reading my mind again, Fairy Queen?" he asked.

'Fairy Queen' was another of his nicknames for her, since from when she was five and until she turned seven her goal in life had been to become the new tooth fairy. She had actually set traps for the "fairy", but at age seven she had instead caught her father instead, which is when she stopped believing in _that_ kind of fairy. She never really gave up on magic, though. She always held out for believing there was something more, just beyond her reach, something amazing, something, well, magical. That was a reason she liked Fire Emblem so much, it had magic and knights and all those sorts of things in it. Well, she loved it when she was successful in it. She was having a really hard time with this one chapter, and it was really bugging her….

Anyways, Oliver would tease her for her belief in magic, but really he supported her. He too loved fantasy; knights in shiny armor and evil witches and dragons and such. He had always loved to pretend he and his friends were the ones saving the fair maiden and slaying dragons, though Loryn never played that kind of game, since she had always hated how the princess was always the one in distress, and the guy would have to save her. Why could the princess never save herself? Or even save the knight? At least in Fire Emblem there were a couple female characters that totally kicked butt and was just as cool as the guy fighters.

"Not likely, 'Sir Oliver'. You're just terrible at hiding your emotions." She told him. 'Sir Oliver' was his nickname, given to him by her, based on his love of medieval knights.

Abruptly, another knock was heard.

"Come in." Loryn called, and the person entered. It was Helen Crowe, their mother. She was a polished, well-manicured and expensively dressed woman, always sporting the latest hairstyles or seemingly-impossible-to-wear high heels of the season.

"Hey, guys. Dinner's ready. Come downstairs quick, or the food will get cold."

"We'll be right there, Mom." Oliver replied to Helen's already retreating back.

"Are you ready, Lor? I'm hungry!" Oliver asked, jumping to his feet.

"When are you ever not?" Loryn grumbled good-naturedly.

"I'll beat you downstairs!" Oliver cried, and hurtled out the door. Laughing, Loryn took off after him. They were always competing with each other. Thundering down the stairs, Loryn caught up to Oliver.

"Better keep an eye out, brother dear, or else you'll lose to a girl!" she said as she ran up to him. He was about to take her spot at the kitchen table when she jabbed the pressure point on his neck and he fell to the ground. Smirking, she leapt over him and next to her chair, and promptly sat down before he could even get up.

"Cheater, no fair using moves you learned in karate." he grumbled.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll get over it." She replied in a bored tome of voice, examining her fingernails.

"Kids, settle down now. Food's ready," admonished the easygoing, falsely comforting, used car-salesman-type voice of their father, Steven Crowe. He was an older version of Oliver, but with sterner and heavier features and a rather fake smile.

Loryn just nodded her head absently as Oliver stood up, dusted himself off, and sat down at the table.

"I just got this from the Chinese store down the street, so it's still warm," said Helen, walking in at that moment carrying in those boxes unique to Chinese restaurants.

"How come you never cook anymore, Mom? I can't remember the last time you did." Loryn asked glumly. She loved Chinese food, but not almost twice a week, and she wished her mother or father actually did anything motherly or fatherly, like cook or clean, instead of paying for maids and getting take-out whenever they were home.

Helen looked shocked and slightly offended. Oliver knew this was probably going to stem into another, 'you have no respect for your elders young lady, we work hard all the time to pay for all your nice things, so be grateful' lecture, and decided to steer the conversation into friendlier waters.

"So, I got a ninety-seven on my math test today, Dad."

"That's nice, son. Have you seen my briefcase? I have a ton of work to do, and I think I need to do it now so I don't run out of time later."

Loryn then tried to smooth things over with her mom.

"Hey, I don't mind, I love Chinese. Hey, I won the sparring contest we had today in my karate class today."

"Hmm..Oh? What? Really? That's interesting. How will that affect your average?"

"Mom, I'm talking about karate, not school."

"Oh, right. Yes, yes, great job…"

The rest of the dinner conversation was pretty much…not a conversation. Helen continued to not really pay attention, and only focus in on what one of her children was saying about halfway through, and Steven just typed up reports or whatever on his laptop.

Loryn sat there, bored out of mind, like usual. This was how having her parents home always was, dull, stress-inducing boredom, guaranteed full of lectures on responsibility and grades and such. She much preferred when their parents were gone, and the lazy woman who came to 'watch over them' (cough cough use their wide screen TV cough cough) was there, and they could do basically whatever they wanted.

Oliver stared at the back of his father's computer, then at his mother's vacant expression, and sighed. Another interesting night for the Crowe family, it would seem. He sometimes secretly wished he had a good reason to run away from this house, these vague parents that were more like guests. He and Loryn could go off and adventure; and he could find a 'damsel in distress' to save, maybe. He longed to leave this stuffy environment and be free to roam the country. Unfortunately, he just wasn't bold enough. Maybe if he had an excuse, he would, but he didn't, not really. Distant parents who barely cared weren't one. He just couldn't wait to get out of there, which was why he got good grades, to avoid failing and being kept back a grade and being stuck in school, and therefore at this house, any longer than he had to.

Loryn finally got sick of sitting there, and stood up out of her chair, clearing her plate from the table.

"I'm finished."

Steven looked up for the first time in a long while, and Helen finally looked her daughter straight in the face as well.

"Ok. Oh, but before you go, I have to tell you that your mother and I are leaving to go seal a large business deal soon."

"When?" asked Oliver and Loryn at the same time.

"Tomorrow," Steve replied. Loryn rolled her eyes, and Oliver said,

"But didn't you just come back from the last one Monday?"

"Yes, but the deal isn't quite set. We have to finalize a few details quickly. We'll be back in about a week."

"Oh, okay," was Oliver's only reply.

_The End_

((((((( …for now…)))))))

_Author's Note_: Well, did you like it? I have a hopefully good story planned out for this idea, several chapters, in fact. I really want to post them, but if I get negative response (or no response at all) I might not. Please, let me know what you think if my first chapter. I'll be forever grateful. AND, get this; I'll even give you a cookie if you do. PLEASE review! I need the advice of all you other fanfic writers out there or I'll never get better. So, go ahead and tell me what you think. And, feel free to give me ideas for future chapters, whatever they may be.


	2. When You Wish Upon A Star

**When Wishes Come True**

Oliver: Hey everybody! Jina just brought me in here to tell you that she, um, uh……

What was it she wanted me to say?

Loryn: She wanted you to tell the lovely readers that she does not own Fire Emblem or the Game Boy company. Or the "When You Wish Upon A Star" song by Disney. Or Monty Python and the Holy Grail (if you catch the reference). Just us, the OCs.

Oliver: Oh! Right, I knew that! Well, lovely readers, I am here to tell you—

Jina: I think they already got the point, Ollie dear.

Loryn: No kidding, I just told them!

Oliver: Shut up, Loryn! You don't know what you're talking about!

Loryn: Wanna bet?

Jina: ……… ahem………. Sorry about that. I'm just a silly author with waaaaay too much free time on her hands, and a waaaaaaay to over-active imagination.

Right…. Well, here's the next part of my story!!!!!

Chapter Two: When You Wish Upon A Star…

"Oliver, don't put Lyn there. That enemy archer has a fifteen percent chance of critical attacking!" a young female voice warned.

"Shut up, Loryn, I'm concentrating. Besides, I know what I'm doing. I'm an excellent tactician, I'll have you know." A male voice replied.

"Oh, and I'm not???" the female asked in a cool, precise voice. It was Loryn, a young teenage girl. She was in her twin brother Oliver's room, sitting with him on his bed, watching him as he played their Fire Emblem on his Game Boy.

"Well, you _did_ get stuck on that one chapter, and had to redo it _twenty-one_ times…"

"Shut up, Oliver! That chapter was a fluke! I've done really well on all the others, getting through on the first or second tries! And, according to the game, my tactician ratings are high!"

"Cripes, I was just kidding. Can't you take a joke?"

"Hey, you two video gamers. Did you both finish your homework? Study for all your tests? Need any help with your math work, Loryn dear?" an adult female voice said clearly, interrupting the conversation the two other voices had been having. It was Helen Carowe, the teens' mother.

"Yes Mother." The twins chorused, not even looking up at their mother as she leaned against the doorway.

"Um, okay. I'll just leave you two to play your silly game, then. Good night, children."

"Mom, it's not silly! It's fascinating! And partially educational!" Oliver replied.

' _Isn't that what they said about that movie they went to the other night? The one about a holy grail, or a giant man-eating rabbit, or something'? _Helen thought to herself.

"Good night, mother." Loryn said rolling her eyes. She knew it was futile to try and get their mother to understand the joys of violent videogames. Not that this one really was that violent, anyway.

"Yeah, Mom, good night." Oliver added in unenthusiastically. All his concentration was focused on the action playing out in front of him on his Game Boy.

"All right, see you in the morning." Their mother said, and then she turned and walked along the hallway to the room she shared with her husband Martin. As she walked away, though, she heard a shout of "NOOOOO!!!" coming from the room she had just left, sounding a lot like Oliver. She shrugged and continued on her way.

Sure enough, Oliver had been the one to shout. As he had watched, the enemy archer Loryn had seen and warned about before had scuttled up catty-corner to a character in his game; a teal-haired woman with a ponytail high on her head and weird blue robe things with _really_ long slits up the sides. Confident that "Lady Lyndis", as the character was called, would avoid the archer's attacks, Oliver watched as the battle screen popped up and Lyn was officially in battle against the archer. Sure in his planning and Lyn's "avoidance" and "luck" levels, he was not expecting the enemy to pause, lean back, pull an arrow from the holder, twirl it around, notch it to the bow, and critically/fatally hit the defenseless sword-using character Lyn. His mouth gaped as he watched the little bars showing how much life was left in Lyn fly away, so that the little number next to the now empty line read "0".

"Oh….. I had so much….oh, Oliver……." the screen read as Lyn spoke her death statement, and died. The little battle figure flickered and blinked out.

"_GAME OVER"_ was what the screen now read, with a red-black swirly background.

"NOOOOO!!!!!" Oliver shouted.

Loryn smirked. She couldn't help but feel a little smug that she had seen this coming. She was sick of having him make subtle remarks about her poor tactician skills. He was really competitive, always striving to be the best. And he often was. Other than that, he was a sweet, compassionate brother, and she loved him anyway. But sometimes, he could be really and truly annoying. In her Fire Emblem game, she was on level 25, while he was on one of the last ones, and playing through the game his second time. He had already beaten it before, as he frequently boasted to Loryn.

"Well, Oliver, I'm not usually one to say 'I told you so', but…" she teased.

"Oh, you shut up, Loryn. I made a silly mistake, that's all. It's quite out of the norm for _me_…"

"Oh, like it's quite normal for _me_ to mess up, though!!!" she said, angry now.

She rarely got angry at Oliver, but today had been stressful. School had been hell that day. Turns out she had been assigned twenty-five math problems and an essay for English, both of which she had completely forgotten. So her teachers were upset at her. Then, her only two friends Lydia and Sally got in a huge fight, and they had tried to force her to pick a side, and when she refused, they both got angry at _her_ instead. So her grades, her friends, and now her family were all messed up. She really wished she had friends instead like Lyn, or Kent, a knight from Fire Emblem as well. Even Hector, an axe-using lord, or Raven, a sullen sword wielding mercenary, would be better than her friends. She'd give anything to have friends like them.

"Obviously, since it takes you so many tries to do one simple chapter, you are not a very good tactician. If it weren't for you having the ability to press the A, B, Select, and Start buttons to restart your game, your allies would all be DEAD!" he retorted furiously. Loryn knew this, but it still hurt to hear it coming from him. She could feel him holding back, though, seeming as if he wanted to say something more, but wouldn't for whatever reason. Still hurting, she grew slightly curious. What was he hiding from her? She cocked her head to the side, as she always did when she was purposely trying to figure out what he was thinking. She listened, hard, for that little voice in the back of her mind, telling her his feelings, his thoughts. What was he hiding from her?

He hated it when she made it look like he was a fool, a selfish and immature little kid. She didn't do it frequently, and it usually wasn't on purpose, but it still stung when she did. He knew she had a harder time of fitting in than he did, as well, but she probably could be as successful as him if she tried. He was sick of defending her, sometimes. She could be so annoying, always clinging to him, depending on him, never herself. She was the selfish, immature one, not he.

Abruptly, Loryn looked at him in shock and pain. He went cold as he realized she had done the twin thing again and picked up on his thoughts. He never meant for her to know that he got sick of her hiding in his shadow in public. He couldn't help it.

Loryn felt cold, numb, and surprisingly calm. Picking up on thoughts of his was a twin habit only she could really do. He could sense her emotions, but not her exact words. She would know exactly what he was thinking, word for word at times.

She could feel him now, thinking about how he wished she wasn't such a baby, how he wished she would stop hiding in his popular, confident shadow at school, where she was unpopular and meek. It hurt, really hurt, to know the last person she had ever expected to betray her, the only person she trusted, her own twin brother, felt this way about her.

But she didn't burst into tears. She didn't hit him, or scream in rage. She merely stood there, unblinking, feeling _his_ emotions of regret and sadness, yet secret happiness at telling the truth at last, wash over her; feeling none of her own. This day, this week, this month, these past years; ever since they left grade school their relationship had been tearing, fraying at the edges, and since then she had been slowly losing control. Her poems she wrote, her drawings and sketches, and more recently, her Fire Emblem game had helped her escape, to create a whole new world for herself, where she was valiant, and strong, and confident.

In real life, though, she had always somewhat depended on Oliver to keep her feet on the ground as her head was in the clouds. But now, now she could tell he was tired of holding on to her, wanting to let her go, to be free.

Oliver didn't know what to say, to do. He couldn't hug her in apology, she hated hugs. He didn't know how to say sorry, what exactly was he sorry for? For telling the truth at last? For wanting her to grow up and step away from his shadow? To be confident? He wasn't sorry at all for telling her _these_ things. But he was sorry it had to hurt her so much, that even if it was true; it was heart-breaking. It hurt him, too, to see his twin, standing there, watching him with her big chocolate-brown eyes, no expression on her face. He had no clue as to what she was thinking, feeling. Was she feeling at all? All he could sense from her was cold, cool acceptance, but dark pain burrowing deep inside.

He couldn't figure out what to say, so the silence between them stretched longer and longer as they both stood there.

Finally, she spoke; and broke the silence, the stretch of coldness, the emptiness of the air hanging between them.

"Oliver…" she said sadly.

"Do you really feel this way? Am I really such a-loser, a…baby?" she went on, her voice growing louder as she continued. Her voice cracked only slightly on the last word or too.

"Loryn….. no……" he began.

"Don't lie to me, Oliver. I can see it in your thoughts, on your face. You were never good at hiding things from me, not the truth of what you think, and especially not your true emotions. I can see it in your eyes. Thoughts don't--can't lie, Oliver. I can feel it." She interrupted. Her face was still completely void of emotion. But her voice was rising, and it was filled with pain.

She then paused and reflected to herself that apparently, he _had_ been able to hide at least a few truths from her. Or maybe she just hadn't wanted to see them.

"Loryn, I….." Oliver tried again.

Loryn just shook her head sadly.

"No, it's okay. It's true. But did you really have to hide how you felt all-these-years??? Have you felt this way all-along? Did you ever really love me for who I am, or just because I am your sister and it is your-duty??? Tell me the truth, Oliver." She said.

"Did you _EVER-love me at ALL?!?_" she cried out, finally breaking. "_OR DID YOU LOVE WHO I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE, YOUR PERFECT LITTLE TWIN??!?"_

"NO! But…..I-can't lie to you, Loryn. You-you're always so meek, so timid, and so helpless-seeming; whenever it's your turn to be the strong one! I'm left hanging, yet you cling on to me! Stand up for yourself for once, Loryn! Be a true person, not the robot you pretend to be! You-you just- …God! I wish you would just me there for _me,_ just _once_! But you're _not_, you're always _behind_ me, playing it safe in my wake, while I fight through the hard stuff!" he stormed.

Loryn was shocked. He had kept this all bottled up for years, and it was all coming out now, the truth. And it hurt. Hurt, hurt, hurt so much……..

She felt like a million iron-hot knives were drilling into her soul, like pins and needles were being driven into her every nerve. Her _brother_, her _twin,_ her _other half_……

How could she be so blind? How could she stand herself? How could she tell herself that she was who she wanted to be, when she was just pretending? She was useless. And now, it was so clear, the truth; that Oliver would be better off without her.

"Loryn---" Oliver said, shocked at his own outburst. What was he doing?

"Oliver, no. Looks like you're right. You're not only the better half of the Carowe twins, you're more like the better person. You never needed me, and you never will, will you? I'm a useless filler, just taking up space, aren't I? You'd be better off without me…"

And with this crushing statement, Loryn turned and ran into her room, locked both doors, and sank down against them.

So much for her hopeful, positive thoughts at dinner, huh? She had felt, during their evening meal, that tonight, something amazing and wonderful, magical even, was going to happen.

"Yeah, right; the only amazing thing that's happened is that I realize my true worth, at last."

Oliver stood in his room, frozen. Better off without her? He wouldn't be_ anywhere_ without her. What about in second grade, when she punched the school bully in the face for picking on him? What about in fourth grade, when she was the only student in their grade school who had cheered for him after his (truly mortifying and embarrassing, since he had a horrible singing voice and couldn't dance worth beans) performance at the school talent show? What about every soccer game she had gone too, no matter how snowy or rainy or cold? What about how she was at every band concert he had ever played his drums in? She had always been there, at his side, cheering him on. He needed her. She completed him. They were Oliver and Loryn, Loryn and Oliver, not Oliver Carowe and his weird identical twin sister. What had he done?

He didn't know just how much sorrow, trouble, and pain their argument would lead to, or what it would do to his sister. He could never guess just how much he had just irreversibly changed their lives, forever………………

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Later that night, still locked in her room. Loryn was standing by her window, gazing out at the night sky. She had always loved the stars, and they seemed to be shining extra bright tonight just to try and comfort her. Silent tears fell from her eyes. She wiped them away with one hand, and then glanced at the Game Boy, with Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken stuck inside it, laying next to her on the windowsill. Oh how she longed to not be real; to be a character in that game that she shared with Oliver. They hadn't been able to afford two games with their meager allowance, so they shared one, taking turns. It was hers at the moment, but she didn't feel like playing the game. She wanted to be _in_ the game, _of _the game, one of the many important characters that led such wonderful, adventurous lives. She wanted to befriend Lyn and Florina, talk to the ever-chivalrous and valiant Eliwood, to tease Hector to get back at him for being so sarcastic. This was her wish, her secret dream, her deepest desire. To be someone important, someone strong, and courageous. Someone people depended on; and someone who pulled through for those people. Like Lyn, and Hector, and Eliwood. She could be that way, if only she was in the game, too.

Glancing back out her window, she noticed a tiny, falling speck of light.

"Oh, a shooting star." she said quietly, to no one. "What was that rhyme, the one to make a wish on a shooting star? Oh, yes…" she murmured.

_"Star light, star bright, shooting through the sky this night; I wish I may, I wish I might, grant me my secret wish tonight…"_ she recited softly. She watched as the star began to fade as it died out, and sighed. Yeah, right. Like _that_ would work…..

Then, the fading star seemed to grow brighter, stronger, a beam of light shining into her eyes. She grabbed her Game Boy off the windowsill with one hand, and covered her eyes from the too bright star with the other. Then, an even stronger flash of light enveloped her; just as Oliver pushed through her door to see what was wrong.

As Oliver entered, all he could see for a moment was bright, bright light; and then he could make out the shape of Loryn, standing in the middle of the ball of light. Sparkles began twirling around her, all different colors of the rainbow, and Oliver shouted her name.

"_Loryn!!! LORYN!!!LORYN!!!!! _He began shouting, his voice growing more and more desperate. Loryn's silhouette turned to him, slowly, as if every movement was made with great effort.

"_Oliver…… I'm ……so…sorry………I………love………you………"_

Her voice whispered, growing fainter with each word.

"_NNNOOOOO!!! LORYN!!!"_

Oliver cried, his heart breaking, ripping, tearing, being shred apart into pieces that were burning with a searing pain as he watched the strange ball of light and sparkles embrace her fully, and her indistinct form faded away.

&&&&&&& Something deep inside Loryn was telling her it was time to go, time to let go, so she whispered an apologetic goodbye to Oliver, and then she did let go; off to whatever fate was waiting for her next……. &&&&&&&

_The End _

((((((( for now… )))))))

**_A/N: _**Wow, this chapter got _really, really _long. Longer than I had originally planned, at any rate. I hope I didn't bore anyone who dared to read this…….

Well, readers, what do you think? Do you like it? Hate it? Want more of it? Please, review and let me now how you like it, give me advice on how to make it better, and help me improve as a fanfic writer!!!!!! I really appreciate _all_ feedback I get, really I do!!!

Special thanks go out to magebear7 and Maxmagnus20019 for being awesome and reviewing my first chapter! You guys rock! Thank you! And to all future reviewers (if I get any) u guys rock too!!! So please, readers, feel free to give me feedback, I looooove getting it. I could use the advice to improve. Plus, I just want to know how the public generally feels about my story!!! Please review!!!


	3. I Don't Think This Is My Room Anymore

** When Wishes Come True **

_Jina: _Here you go, Oliver, you can try and tell the wonderful readers the disclaimer again!

_Oliver:_ . . .

_Jina: _What is it, Ollie?

_Oliver: _. . . You took away my sister . . .

_Jina: _Oh, relax, you're not real anyway. It's not like you have real brotherly feelings for her.

_Oliver:_ . . .

_Jina: _Oh come on, Oliver! Don't be that way! I didn't mean it in a bad way, just…

_Oliver:_ . . . You took away my sister . . .

_Jina:_ Geez, would you get over it already??? Just do the darn disclaimer!

_Oliver: _. . . no . . . Loryn!!!!! . . .

_Jina: _ Ah, geez. Big baby. Anyways, I don't own Fire Emblem, or the Game Boy Company. There!!! See??? You made me do my own disclaimer! Are you happy now!?!?!

_Oliver: _. . . You-took-my-sister-away!!!!!!!

leaps upon Jina Fate, attempting to strangle her…

CENSORED FOR VIOLENCE

_Jina: _ aaagghhh… uuuggghhhh… gasp just…. please…… enjoy…. the …story…..

_ Chapter Three: I Don't Think This Is My Room Anymore… _

"We're so sorry for your loss, Oliver…" Mr. Odans, Oliver's math teacher said quietly. "But losing, ah, um, _her_; is not an excuse to give up on life and not do any schoolwork or homework! You went from a 94 math average to a 46 in three weeks! You need to move on and step back into real life! The world won't wait for you!" he continued.

Oliver just sat in his desk in the momentarily empty math room, staring down at his hands, which were lying folded in his lap. Instead of wearing bright colors like he normally would, he was wearing all black, and his normally neat strawberry blonde hair was uncombed and straggly. He had dark circles under his sad blue eyes, and they didn't shine with excitement like they used to. He didn't look up, or even acknowledge the teacher's presence. He just sat there.

_'Loryn……………' _he thought to himself sadly. _'Loryn hated math. She used to claim she was allergic to numbers………oh, Loryn………'_

"OLIVER CAROWE!!!!!" Mr. Odans shouted. "PAY ATTENTION TO ME WHEN I AM SPEAKING TO YOU!!!" he continued angrily.

Oliver raised his head, to stare bleakly into the teacher's eyes.

Mr. Odans sighed. The young man's story was truly depressing: one day, about a week ago, his beloved twin sister Loryn Carowe had disappeared, leaving no clues as to her present whereabouts, no way to track her left behind. The case had been closed by the private investigators yesterday, and she was officially presumed 'missing', though the detectives all thought there was a large possibility she was dead. Oliver Carowe himself had gone from a bright, cheerful, popular young man to a moody, lost, and sullen one. He accepted no one's sympathy, just sat by himself in the corner, alone. Eventually the other students had given up on him, and let him be. All his teachers had been sympathetic at first, but when his silence and mourning began to get old, they grew angry and frustrated.

"You know, Oliver…" the math teacher finally said, quite sadly. "Maybe you should go see someone to talk to about your sis---"

"No." Oliver stated dully.

"You won't get better if you don't even try!!!" the teacher pointed out.

"Who cares," Oliver said. "You don't really care about me, or how I feel. _She_ might have cared, but _she's_ gone…"

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Later that night, after his parents had given up trying to make him eat dinner and just left some soup outside his door, Oliver sat on his bed, and stared at his Game Boy.

It had been a week, a whole week since the day she had mysteriously disappeared.

He hadn't told anyone the truth of what he'd seen. They'd already put him in counseling, he didn't want anybody trying to put a straightjacket on him now too, for seeing "weird and mysterious balls of sparkles and light that steal the people you love away". It still hurt to think of her, and he thought of her constantly. Almost everything reminded him of her.

She had been such a huge part of him, of his life, and now Oliver couldn't help but see the traces of her she left behind. Like how she hated math, or loved it when their school served macaroni and cheese, her favorite meal; or when he even just looked around his room, and saw all the drawings, paintings, and sketches she had ever given him tacked up on the walls. Portraits of him, Fire Emblem characters, dogs, their family cabin; all were scattered on his wall, making Oliver feel like the walls were closing in on him, like he couldn't breathe. _'Loryn, why'd you have to go? Why did you have to go, and leave me behind to mourn you? Where are you, Loryn???'_

The thoughts kept running through his head, making everything else seem miniscule and unimportant. He'd loved her more than anything, he'd do anything for her, and now she was gone. And right after their first huge argument, too!!! This hurt the worst; that she had been taken away before he could apologize, before he could tell his sister he loved her. She went away thinking he hated her, and this pained him to no end. That was why he just couldn't bring himself to play Fire Emblem, his favorite game ever. For one thing, it had been her favorite too, and it reminded him so strongly of her he couldn't stand it. For another thing, this game had been what set off their argument, what led to him saying the single things he would regret the most in his whole life.

But now Oliver was lonely; and he wanted something, anything, to take his mind off of _her_. So he stared at his Game Boy, contemplating whether or not he could bear to play it. He decided that he could, since like he said, Loryn had loved the game too, and would want him to keep playing it anyway, to beat it again.

Finally, he made his decision, and leaned forward to grab his Game Boy, with Fire Emblem nestled inside it. Holding it in his hands, he could suddenly feel warmth radiating off it, into his cold fingers, up his arms, and into his heart, where he could feel it spreading to his entire body. At the same time, he got a sudden, powerful sense of Loryn; like she was in the room with him, standing right behind him. He dropped the Game Boy onto the bed and whirled around, her name on his lips….

But no one was there. The feeling was gone. Disappointed, he turned around and picked up the Game Boy again. Suddenly, he could again feel Loryn's presence strongly, and keeping a hold on the electronic device he turned around again, hoping beyond all hope that she would be there, smiling at him, running up to him and hugging him again like she used to when they were young. Again, she was not there.

Now truly saddened, he turned around and got on his bed, sitting up against the headboard and flipping open the silver Game Boy Advance SP, with Fire Emblem inside.

He paused slightly before flicking on the device, still feeling the presence of Loryn running through him, but just shaking his head sadly at it. He watched as the Game Boy flashed through the opening screens, and then the ones for the game itself. Then he looked at the main menu. _"Resume Chapter"_ one option read. _"Restart Chapter" _another one went on. He instead chose neither of these options, and chose a third _"New Game"_. Since only two people, he and Loryn, had shared the game, there was still a place for a player to save a new game on it open. He went there, and started a new game…

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A while later, he was on the third chapter, having successfully gotten through the other two. He had met Lyn, and done all the other stuff at the beginning. And now, he and their small band of mercenaries were traveling to Caelin, home of Lyndis' grandfather, Marquess Caelin. He was not looking forward to the reunion of her and her grandfather; it reminded him of how he would probably never be reunited with Loryn. On his current map, he was fighting some weird bandit boss dude with Kent and Sain the cavaliers and Florina the Pegasus knight and Wil the archer. Oliver had just finished watching Florina be attacked by an enemy sword user and successfully kill it, when the enemies' turn finally ended. Instead of it becoming his turn, however; the screen focused off on a little house to the side of his fighters, and zoomed in on it. Inside, it showed two people, an old woman and a young girl.

They were arguing about whether or not the girl could go help out in the fighting.

"No! You may not go and fight! I did NOT take you in and care for you like I would my own child, for you to get yourself killed now!" the old woman said. She was nothing more than another generic villager, so he didn't pay attention to her.

"I WILL go and help the mercenaries defend your village! I want to help protect you!" the young girl said. "I can also, uh, _borrow _useful things from the enemy for them, and help them fight!"

This made Oliver sad. Loryn had always liked thieves best in the game, figuring they were actually honorable people, just forced into doing dishonorable things, like stealing, lying, and that sort of thing. Trying not to shed any more tears, and staring at the screen blankly, it took him a moment to really _see_ what he was looking at, and when he did, his heart jumped. The young thief-girl's face……. Oliver blinked, astounded, at how much the girl looked like………………

He put the game down and opened the door to Loryn's room, entering it for the first time since she disappeared. He looked at her dark-blue painted walls, covered with drawings and paintings and such of hers; much like his own. He peered at them intently until he saw the acrylic painting she had done of the two of them, but not _really_ them…. It was what the two of them might look like if they were Fire Emblem anime characters…

He gently disconnected it from her wall, and holding it reverently he took it into his room. He then gently placed it on his desk, walked over, grabbed his Game Boy, and placed that next to the painting. He bent over and gazed oh so closely at the figures in the painting.

Linking arms with an anime boy that looked like him, complete with blue eyes, strawberry blond hair, and a cheery smile, was the anime character of Loryn. The anime girl had her russet-colored hair flowing around her features, partially hiding one of her large brown eyes, her small nose, and her heart-shaped face. She wore the cloak and tight and dark inconspicuous clothing of a thief, complete with two sharp daggers hanging from her waist. His character wore the clothing of a mercenary, a skilled sword and axe wielding fighter. But he merely glanced over his own anime figure and stared at hers.

He looked at the painting for a few more moments. Then, he glanced over at the Game Boy, and again focused on only the young girl figure, still talking to the old woman. Well, all he could see was her face, and only part of her clothing, but he was still shocked. There it was: long russet-brown hair flaring gently around a heart shaped face, with one huge brown eye partially hidden from view, and what looked like the top of a thief's cloak. _'Huh???'_ was all he could think, still surprised.

He looked back and forth, back and forth, from painting to Game Boy, staring at the absolutely identical female characters. Shaking slightly, he picked the game back up, and pressed the "A" button to continue the two people's conversation.

"… You know I hate it when you _'borrow' _things…" the old woman said.

"Besides, maybe if I help these fighters, I can join them and travel all of Elibe with them, and perhaps find my missing twin brother, Olliver!" the young girl who looked like Loryn's anime portrayal of herself continued.

Oliver's mouth dropped open in shock. This was amazing, this was confusing, what was going on?!?!?!?!? It was far too strange to be merely a coincidence. A girl who looked like Loryn, wishing to search for her _missing twin brother!!!!!!!!!!!_ Sure, she called the guy "Olliver", or something weird like that, but still!!!!!!

Was this---???? Could it be---?

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&&&&&&& _Far away, but somehow still so close by……… And also a week before Oliver's discovery, right after Loryn's disappearance………&&&&&&&_

"Uuuuuuuugggggggggggghhhhhhhhhh……… ooooooh, it huuuuurts." A voice groaned, not speaking to anyone in particular, seeing as no one was around. The owner of the voice, a young girl with red-brown hair and brown eyes, was lying down in what appeared to her to be 'plains', rolling mounds of otherwise flat land covered with grass and a few sparse trees. It seemed to be about midday, and it was warm and sunny. The girl sat up slowly, still in a little pain, though from what, she didn't know…

All of the sudden, an indistinct shape appeared in the distance, leisurely walking among the grasses. As they thing wandered closer, the girl could make out the form of a tall woman. As the woman came yet closer, the girl could see that she was old, with a bent back and gnarled hands. Would she be able to assist her? The girl stood up, and brushed the dust off of her cloak and robes. She finger-combed her hair, and hoped she did not have dirt smudged on her face. _'It wouldn't do to make a poor first impression on anyone!'_ she thought nervously. As the elderly woman drew nearer, the girl began walking towards her, making not a sound, even in the crisp grass.

"Hello there." The girl said clearly, abruptly popping out of the grasses and into plain view. The elderly plainswoman abruptly jumped, not seeing or hearing the girl until then.

"Who are you and why are you on my land???" she asked, putting a hand over her old, thumping heart. _'I hate being startled!'_ the woman thought.

"I am called...well…uh…um…I am here…um… because… I'm here... Here…Where's here, anyway?" the girl said slowly, looking extremely confused. "I'm here, wherever _that_ is, because… Oh, dash it all!!! Why can't I remember!!!" she cried out exasperatedly.

The woman just stared at her sympathetically. "Did something happen to you? Were you attacked?" she asked concernedly. _'It was most likely them bandits again. She was probably kidnapped from a village somewhere, and if that's true, it's a blessing she can't remember if they did anything to her…'_ the old woman thought.

"That's just it! I don't remember!" the girl cried again, looking frustrated.

The woman's old, compassionate heart ached for this poor girl. She was most likely yet another orphan, another village girl whose parents were killed by bandits, and were stolen for their young beauty. She had come across girls like this one before, lost confused, and doing whatever it took to survive. By the daggers attached to her belt at her waist, and the small pouch that was also connected, this girl had chosen to take the path of a thief, stealing what she needed to survive. Now, the elderly woman did not approve of stealing, but she had the utmost sympathy towards this girl, and all girls like her. The bandits in this area were really getting out of hand. So she merely smiled slightly.

"Well, child, you look to me like you are a young girl who has been on the road non-stop for far too long. Why don't you come with me, and I'll take care of you for awhile. I am called Janelle, my village's wise-woman. I live on the border of Sacae and Lycia. And right now, I can see you're confused. Well, we are in Sacae, on the continent of Elibe. Near the border. I live in a small town nearby. Come stay with me, at least until you get your memory back. I can't very well leave a little girl like you out on her own!" Janelle said calmingly. Obviously, this girl was incredibly lost.

"Sacae? Elibe? My goodness………….." the girl said, looking slightly less befuddled. "These names……. They sound so familiar to me!" she continued excitedly.

"Wonderful!" Janelle said warmly. "Come, child, maybe names like "stew" and "bread" will help you remember more!" The girl laughed at this small joke.

"But……. Will you always call me 'child'???" the girl asked as they walked off towards the home of the wise-woman.

"No, no, of course not……Hmmm……. For the time being, until you recall your true name, I will call you, ah……. Oh, perfect! I will call you Corinne, after my own daughter." Janelle answered. Her face looked happy, but wistful as well.

"What happened to the first Corinne?" Corinne asked. Meanwhile, she was thinking, _'Corinne…Corinne…why does that name ring a bell??? Corinne…'_

"My dear husband, Gharm, died when I was but a young maiden, leaving me alone with a young daughter to take care of, all by myself. The first Corinne. She grew to be about, oh, I think, I think she was four, when she caught a terrible illness and died. All the clerics I could afford could do nothing for her. I've been-alone, ever since…" Janelle spoke quietly. This was the first time she had ever had to tell someone her sorry tale, besides the monks in the nearby temple. It felt… good, in a way, to share her pain at last.

"Oh… I see… Maybe 'Corinne' wouldn't be the right name…" the girl says sadly. "I do not want to bring up painful memories for you any time I enter the room. Why don't you call me… Lora. Yes, Lora. I like that."

"Oh, yes, you're right, I suppose. Lora it is, then. I like that too." The kind woman said.

So Lora and Janelle set off to Janelle's small cottage in the village. Once there, it would only be a few restful days before 'Lora's' life changed again…

As they walked, a random phrase entered Lora's mind, and she said it out loud, very quietly, just to herself…

"Well, I don't think I'm in my room anymore, Toto…"

"What was that, dear?" Janelle inquired.

"Oh, nothing; nothing. Just something ... something..… Like a scrap of paper with only a few words printed on it, words that are actually part of this whole big story…….. One I should remember………….."

_The End _

((((((( for now… )))))))

_Author's Note: _Thanks again to all you wonderful, fabulous people who reviewed Chapter Two for me….. I truly, truly appreciate it. Special thanks goes out to: Caellach Tiger Eye, Maxmagnus20019 (again!), Lao Who Mai, and magebear7 (again!)!!! You guys are awesome!!! So please, all readers: please review!!!

P.S. _NO, _this story is _NOT TWINCEST!!! _Sorry, that was just to make sure y'all don't think it is, 'cause, well, it's not. Sorry to disappoint anyone, I guess… O.o


	4. Goodbye Doesn't Last Forever

** When Wishes Come True **

_Jina: _Well, since I don't feel like getting strangled by Oliver again for trying to force him to do a disclaimer, I'll just do it myself. I do NOT own Fire Emblem, nor do I own anything else I might mention in this chapter. I might add in stuff that isn't mine in here, and then I'll forget to mention it's not mine, and then I'll get sued, and then I'll become a penniless hobo, (yay for hobos, they're cool, even if they smell bad…), and then---

_Oliver: _JUST GET ON WITH THE STORY!!! I WANNA KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO US NEXT!!!

_Jina: _Geez Louise, (yay for awesome snipers, too!) don't rush me! I'm getting to it, I'm getting to it! Well, anyways, loyal readers, here is chapter four…… enjoy!!!

_Oliver: FINALLY!!!_

_Jina: _Hey, no smart-mouthing from you, mister!

_Oliver: _…Just let them read the story…

_Jina: _Oh! And here's a little side-note. When the story talks about Oliver as the tactician as though he was in the game, he is, sort of; but only an extremely accurate representation of him. Not a true person who lives in the game like Lora, but in he's sort of there in spirit. You know, like all of us who play the game are treated by the characters as if we're in it, but we're not. You know what I mean? So yes, Oliver will talk to Lora and Lyn and all the soldiers as though he were right there with him, but that will be because at the moment, the story is in the point of view of Lora, really, and now, like Lyn and Erk and all the others, it is her _real_ world. Not a fantasy one, one that actually truly matters to her. So no, Oliver is not actually in the game world, just a small fictional part of him. Just to clear things up a bit.

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_ Chapter Four: Goodbye Doesn't Last Forever… _

&&&&&&& _Previously in 'When Wishes Come True'………&&&&&&&_

_Oliver, after being all sad and lonely for a week since Loryn disappeared, finally decides to play FE7 for the first time since that happened. Upon starting a new game, Oliver makes an amazing discovery, involving a young thief-girl living near Caelin, one with red-brown hair and brown eyes, one who looked like someone he knew almost better than he knew himself, someone he had previously thought he would never see again………_

_Meanwhile, a mysteriously familiar young girl named 'Lora', who is victim to extreme amnesia and can't remember anything that happened to her before she met Janelle, the kind and elderly woman from the border of Sacae and Lycia. All she can remember are snippets of her old life: a line from a favorite movie, someone she was once extremely close to, and that something about the names "Corinne" and "Lora" is extremely familiar. (Gee, I wonder why??? Hehehe…) Now, she has finished traveling with Janelle to her little cottage, and has only been settled in for a few happy days before her life is dramatically changed yet again………_

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Oliver was still in shock. How could this be? How was she in---? How could that---? It broke all the laws of physics his teachers had ever attempted to cram into his brain!!! It couldn't be!!! Could it??? Was this some freaky coincidence??? Was this all a dream??? Was he insane??? He just sat on his bed, all these mad thoughts scrambling around in his head, numb. "Loryn???" he asked the empty air in his room that was suddenly a lot colder. "Is it really you???"

&&&&&&& _Meanwhile, on a little continent named Elibe……… &&&&&&&_

Lora and Janelle were just finishing up cleaning their lunch dishes when they heard the clang of iron on iron, the shouts of voices in pain and in triumph, and the whinnies of horses and--a Pegasus? These were unmistakably the sounds of battle, but what would an Ilian Pegasus Knight be doing here?

"I'll go see what's going on, Janelle." The young girl, Lora, said. She put down her dish-drying rag and walked over to the door.

"Don't you DARE go out there, young lady! That's fighting going on!!! I won't have gone to all the trouble to rescue you out on the plains to have you be killed by bandits now!!!" Janelle cried out anxiously. But she was too late, for the slippery young thief had already hastened out the cottage door.

"Darn thieves, always sneaking speedily away before you can so much as blink an eye! That fool girl; she ran right out into the midst of a battle!!! What was she thinking?!?" Janelle groaned to herself and the empty cottage. Shaking her head sadly, she put the last dish away and sat in her rocker by the fireplace, wringing her hands and fretting anxiously over the curious little girl she had come to love like a daughter.

Lora crept along behind the fence that separated Janelle's land from the forest right next to it and the open plains on the other sides. Peeking through the slats, she could clearly see all the fighting going on. The two battling forces were no more than at the most 100 feet away from the lonely cottage. Lora could see what looked like a small group of mercenaries fighting against some bandits. Looking at the numbers of the bandits, she could see that they outnumbered the mercenaries three to one, but that the mercenaries had better battle tactics.

She could see a figure in the green robes of a tactician closely following the figure of the teal-haired sword-wielding lady in the blue robes of a Sacaen tribeswoman as she charged an enemy archer. Nearby, a red-orange haired cavalier used an iron sword to defeat an axe-using bandit. Another cavalier, this one with brown hair, rode up to engage yet another enemy in combat. The Pegasus Knight soared in the skies, and then swooped down to attack an unsuspecting bandit. A sandy-haired man was fighting off and axe user, deftly avoiding the axe's swing and then leaping forward to slice at the enemy with his daggers, defeating it. The cleric hung back, watching the fighters carefully, running forward and healing people with her magic staff when they were injured. A purple haired mage stood in front of her, throwing magic fire at any bandit who got too close to the cleric.

Lora watched all the fighting and killing without a blink. Something in her was not shocked at the bloodshed in front of her, as if she had seen many battles before. Her mind strained, trying to latch onto and keep this faint feeling of remembrance, of familiarity.

It brought to mind the other strange memory she had found the other day in Janelle's cottage, one of herself horsing around in a strange bedroom with a young boy who looked much like her but in a masculine way, except for the fact that he was more of a blond than she, and his laughing eyes were bright blue. Along with the strange memory came a name: Olliver, or something like that. She could only recall strong feeling of love towards this "Olliver"; she couldn't remember why she loved him, or why he looked so much like her. Discussing this with Janelle, they had determined that the young boy must have been Lora's former family, her brother to be precise, perhaps even her twin. Lora was sure that somewhere out there, somewhere in Elibe, a young boy named Olliver was searching for her, his dancing blue eyes just waiting to see her again. She wished with all her heart she could find him, and revel in that wonderful feeling of sisterly love she felt gazing upon his image. She wanted so badly to be with this jovial boy again, to laugh and fool around with him. She could recall not much of any other family members, only faint traces of memory about what they maybe had meant to her, which in essence was not that much. She supposed she wasn't very close to her parents, or something, to explain that; and she didn't remember any other siblings at all.

Now, she was feeling that same feeling of familiarity, and somehow it must've been connected with Olliver. But, it faded, so she merely sighed and began to turn and go back into the house. Turning one last time in front of the door to the cottage, Lora looked at the fighters. Then, she noticed a few sneaky bandits heading towards the nearby village, and then two more coming towards Janelle's cottage!!! Gasping in worry for Janelle, she flew into the two-room home, and seeing Janelle sitting in her rocker, ran over to her. She must convince Janelle to let her fight, and protect her!

"Finally, you're back, safe and sound!" Janelle said, rising from the rocker to hug her. "I'm so glad you're okay…"

The two characters then proceeded to have the same conversation a certain tactician had already once read, and then they heard the bandits moving closer.

"Janelle! I must protect you, for all the good you've done for me, all the kindness you've shown me! I'll be back!" Lora cried, adding to herself; _'I hope…'_

"Lora! Lora! Lora…" Janelle shouted, and then murmured the valiant yet foolish girl's name once more before sighing heavily and sitting down in her rocking chair to wait for the courageous young girl to hopefully come home.

Lora, meanwhile, was crouching behind a shrub, where she waited for one of the now split-up bandits come close enough for her to attack. As one finally wandered closer, she leapt out of the bushes and onto his back, slicing her one dagger in her right hand across his throat, the other to stab his stomach, killing the bandit in one hit.

The other bandit ran towards her, and Lora bent her knees, crouching into her "prepared" stance, ready to dodge any attack, but also to make an offensive move of her own. The man rushed towards her, brandishing his large axe, and as he swung at her, Lora swiftly threw herself to the left, landing on her feet. Then, she jumped forward and sliced at him with both daggers, landing, stepping back turning as she quickly moved back to her original position, and then attacked again the same way. The bandit fell to the ground, dead.

Lora looked back at the battlefield after wiping off her blades. After all, she had not spent her years of training in the fighting arts twiddling her thumbs, so she was quite strong. Lora blinked. Where had that thought come from??? She had trained in fighting arts??? I sounded right, so she assumed it was the truth.

She eyed the closest mercenary to her, the sword-using man with blondish hair. She hoped he wouldn't mistake her for the enemy and attack her, before she could get them to protect the village.

She ran out the gate and onto the battlefield, brandishing her daggers, ready for battle. Another foolish bandit charged at her, and she merely sides-stepped his attack, and countered with a fatal one of her own. _'Amateurs.' _She thought coldly.

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"_Who_ in Elimine's name is _that_?" Kent, the red-orange haired cavalier asked as he rode up next to Lady Lyndis, the sword wielder, and the Oliver, the tactician.

"I believe it is a girl from the village, or perhaps that small house a small distance from it." Lyn replied. The tactician said nothing, and Kent and Lyn looked at him questioningly. His sharp blue eyes were locked onto the figure of the girl, who was now attacking an enemy archer. _'Loryn………' _he thought, shocked to see his sister killing. He then noticed two bandits that were closing in on her from the left and from her back. He gasped in terror.

"Kent!! Go help that girl, immediately!!! Attack the sword user! Lyn! Attack the axe user going up behind her! Hurry! We can't let her be hurt! Go!" he cried out.

Kent and Lyn, both somewhat befuddled by his need for urgency, followed his orders anyway. The girl was finishing off the archer, and then she was stuck waiting as the two bandits came closer. Kent galloped forward and destroyed the sword wielding one, as Lyn used her iron sword to run the other man through with it. The girl turned around in shock, staring at her two rescuers, and then she caught sight of the tactician's face, finally catching up to them. She gasped, as abruptly a torrent of memories flashed through her mind. "Oliver!" she cried.

But their reunion was not to be. A sudden roar from the remaining bandits caused them all to turn around. They had pulled in reinforcements from the surrounding mountains, and now their number had doubled.

"Oliver! We must defend the village! But we're outnumbered!" Lyn cried out.

"Lor---" Oliver began, but he was interrupted by Sain, riding up beside them.

"Oliver! We need our orders, now!!!" the cavalier shouted, serious for once, since dramatic changes of events had tipped the battle against their favor.

"Young girl, maybe you should go somewhere safer…" Lyn said to Lora.

"I am called Lora, and I will not! You saw me fight, I am good! I can take care of myself just fine, you need not worry about me being a liability. Besides, I must protect my village, and Janelle especially!" Lora said hurriedly, eyeing the approaching bandits.

Not pausing to figure out or worry about who this "Janelle" was, Oliver knew he had a duty to Lyn and her legion of fighters. Oh, but if only Loryn's character would continue on with them!!!

He pushed his thoughts aside and ordered his troops into a defensive position around the village, and sent Erk and Florina to guard the lone, separate cottage Loryn had come from.

"Oliver, guide me in battle! Tell me who to fight, and I will surely defeat them!" Lora cried to the boy.

Inside, she was thinking, _'Is this Oliver, really Oliver?'_

Lora/Loryn was having a very hard time dealing with what she now remembered of Oliver's real world, and what she know had accepted as her real world. Oliver's world, which was once hers, seemed like a game, or a story to her now, and this; Elibe, Lyn, Pegasus Knights and cavaliers, mages and clerics; this to her seemed to be more real, to be real life, and not a videogame. But she knew Oliver thought of it in the exact opposite way: this world was his fantasy, and his real life lay outside of it.

Loryn knew the truth now, but she was still Lora, really. Loryn was who she used to be, when she was a part of Oliver's real life. Now, this was her life, and Lora was who she was now. _'How will I explain this to stubborn Oliver???'_ she thought. _'And will our worlds ever be one and the same again???'_

&&&&&&&&&&&&& _Still in Elibe &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&_

Lora ferociously sliced through the last bandit (besides the boss bandit) and then stepped back, wiping her daggers off with her brown cloak. _'Fiend, you got what you deserved.'_ She thought angrily. Janelle had told her stories of the two other bandit-kidnap victims she had cared for, the tales so sad and horrible it brought tears to Janelle's eyes. These bandits were the same: loud, crass, rude, abusive, and dishonorable. Lora hated each and every one of them on sight, and it brought her joy to be the one to finish them off. She know remembered that Lady Lyn herself had been orphaned by the bandits, and left alone without a tribe, or anyone to care for her. Lora sympathized, and knew how she felt. Bandits were one of the vilest creatures in Elibe.

Oliver watched Loryn as she killed the second to last bandit and then paused, waiting for his orders. For some reason, Oliver had complete control of all her movements, of where she went. He was proud of her, of her strength, and her awesome fighting skills. But he couldn't help but wonder, after he sent Kent to weaken the boss and then Lyn to finish him off, completing the chapter, _'What happens now? Now that I've found her, can she come home? Will she stay? What happens next???'_

Lora cheered with the rest of Lyn's Legion as they realized their victory. But she knew what she would have to do next. Turning to go to Janelle's home to say goodbye, she was startled, as she noticed Janelle walking slowly towards her. At the same time, Oliver ran up to her.

"Lora!" Janelle cried, while at the same time Oliver cried, "Loryn!"

Lora/Loryn shook her head, confused, and then turned to Oliver.

"Hold on, Sir Oliver." She said quietly. She noticed Lyn coming up behind him and said, loud enough for the Lord to hear, "I will come with you, and fight for your cause, but I must first say goodbye."

"Are you sure you wish to journey with us?" Lyn asked.

"Yes. I wish to help you save your grandfather. Something is not right, about this whole business. I will fight. We will save him, I know." Lora/Loryn said clearly, head held high.

"Thank you, for your help, and your kind words. Knowing there are honorable people, even out here in the middle of nowhere; it does me good, especially after fighting with the scum of the earth, bandits. Oliver… Lora… are two you related??? You two look so alike, I can't help but believe it so." Lyn said.

"Yes, she is my twin."

"Yes, he is my twin." They both said at the same time.

Lyn grinned. "All right, I'm going to go with the rest of them and check on the villagers. We will be back soon." She said again, and then walked away, Kent trotting over on his horse to ride beside her.

Janelle finally reached Lora, tears shedding from her eyes.

"Lora… you're… you're okay..." she said softly, relief shining in her eyes.

"I promised I'd be back," Lora said teasingly. She then grew serious again.

"I always keep a promise."

"Come here, you!" Janelle said roughly, grabbing Lora into a hug. Lora hugged her back, a single tear falling out of her own eye. It felt good to be loved.

"Janelle…I…" Lora began, but Janelle just shook her head.

"Lora, it is obvious to me that St. Elimine has smiled down upon you, and brought your brother right to you. If he is traveling, you must go with him. Just promise me you will return one day, and visit me for awhile."

"Oh, Janelle..." Lora said. Her heart was being ripped in two. Stay and live a happy life with the woman who had come to be more of a mother than her biological one; the woman she owed so much to; the woman who loved her like a daughter??? Or go off and travel the continent with her brother who wasn't really and truly there, (for she knew he wasn't really there at all, just being represented by a character that was an accurate rendition of him) fighting for peace and justice and good? She was so confused…

"Lora, I never want you to regret not spending time with your brother. Do not waste your life away thinking "what if?"… Go with him…I'll always be right here when you need me…" Janelle said softly to the girl in her arms.

"Just-promise me you'll still be here when I get back!" Lora said, sniffling a little. It was the first time she had cried in ages.

"Of course." Janelle replied. "Now go, celebrate. You just won your first battle. Be happy, Lora my daughter."

Lora smiled slightly, and then pulled away from Janelle's embrace.

"I'll never forget you, or your kindness." She said. "Goodbye doesn't last forever, you know… I'll be back, sooner than you think." _'I hope…'_ she secretly thought.

A few moments later, Janelle headed up to her cottage, and Lora walked over to join the other mercenaries. Oliver was in the middle of them, discussing the battle, and where they would go next, with Lyn. Lora trotted over, eager to greet her brother. She stopped when she realized he was in a very important meeting, and waited nearby.

"We must press on and get my grandfather as soon as possible," Lyn was saying.

"I know, Lady Lyndis, but, the soldiers are tired, and we cannot save your grandfather if we are falling asleep on our feet." Kent said gently.

"I know, it's just… I don't have any family left besides him, and I want to see him before… before…before anything happens to him, that's all." She said quietly.

"We'll all stand beside you, Lyn. No matter what, we'll follow your lead. " Florina the loyal Pegasus Knight and best friend of Lyn said shyly.

"We're with you 'til the end, milady." Sain put in.

"Thank you, so much." Lyn said, looking a little more cheerful. "What do you say, Oliver, do we press on tomorrow?"

"Sounds good to me." Oliver said softly.

"Very well, then, tomorrow it is." Lyn agreed.

Lora decided no to say anything to Oliver at the moment. She would talk to him later.

As the fighters all headed to their encampment after the meeting, Lora noticed that Oliver was missing. Panicking, she searched out Lyn, who was walking with Florina to a nearby stream to wash up.

"Lyn!!! Lyn! Where's Oliver? I can't find him." Lora called out.

"Oh, its okay, Lora; he always disappears after we finish with a battle and with any meetings and discussions we have afterwards. It's just what he does. It's a tactician thing, I think." Lyn reassured her.

Lora then remembered that Oliver was of the real world, and not this one. It made sense that he wouldn't be there after the battles, because that's what happened when video gamers from his world played. They were there for the battles, but never afterwards.

"It's okay," she told herself. "After all, goodbye never lasts forever…"

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Oliver sat up from his bed after the battle ended. He was tired, and would fail miserably if he attempted to advise the troops when his brain wasn't functioning right; just to see his sister again. He still could barely believe it. But there was no other explanation, was there??? He couldn't think of one, at any rate. But still, HE HAD FOUND HER!!! SHE WASN'T LOST TO HIM FOREVER ANYMORE!!!" He was so deliriously happy; it didn't matter that he could only see her when he played his game. It was better than never seeing her at all, like he had thought his fate would be.

"I found her, and she's okay. I didn't lose her, I didn't lose her!!!..."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

The next day in Oliver's school, the teacher's saw a dramatic change in Oliver Carowe. He was smiling, he was laughing, and he was wearing colors. His hair was neat, and his eyes sparkled with mirth. He joked with his friends, who were all too happy to welcome him back among the living; and he participated in class. No one could figure out why this amazing change had occurred, but no one was complaining. They were happy for him. And finally, he was happy for himself too.

"I didn't lose her!..." Oliver murmured to himself. He was in a daze, coasting through the hallways on a natural high; happy, so happy. He had found her at last! She wasn't gone forever!!!

_'She was right,' _he thought to himself as he waited with his tray in the cafeteria lunch line, _'Goodbye really doesn't last forever…"_

_ The End _

_ ((((((( for now……… )))))) _

_Author's Note:_ Hey everybody!!! First of all, I would just like to congratulate anyone who even bothers to read past chapter two in this story, you have courage. D Second of all, I would like to thank (almost) ALL my lovely reviewers, for taking the time out of their probably muchly busy lives to tell a delusional little author if her story's any good. I really and truly appreciate it!!!! If it weren't for you guys, this story probably would have been deleted quite a while ago, way back at chapter one. So it's all thanks to you I actually just put up a fourth chapter!!! Thank you sooooooo much, you guys pwn!!! You all deserve lots of cookies!!!


	5. Questions, Comrades, and Sneaky Business

** When Wishes Come True **

_Jina: _ Hola amigos! And welcome back to "When Wishes Come True"!!! I will now let Lora, the big disappearing-act-stealer herself, do the disclaimer!!!

_Lora: _ Why do I have to do the stupid disclaimer??? You did it just fine before….

And HEY!!! I'm not a disappearing-act-stealer!!! I didn't do anything! I'm the victim of this fanfic!!! In fact, it's YOUR fault!!!

_Jina: _MY fault?!?

_Lora: _Yes, you're fault. You're the author of this story, remember??? You're the one in control of what happens!!! (Elimine help us)…

_Jina: _ HEY!! Now you're just being nasty!! You're just bitter 'cause I took Oliver right out of your grasp again before you could really talk to him!!!

_Lora: _grrrrrrrrrr…

_Jina: _Fine, I'LL do the stupid disclaimer; I don't own Fire Emblem!!! There!!! Was that so hard???? NO, it most definitely was NOT!!!

_Lora: _ So why do you bring us muses in to do it for you if it's not hard for you to do it yourself???

_Jina: …………………… _Readers, enjoy the story. Please excuse me now, I have a thief I need to kill…

_Lora: _Matthew???

_Matthew: _Hey, I just came in here, I didn't even take Jina's stuff yet, why would she kill me--- oh, snap.

_Jina: …………………_Please excuse me again, I now have TWO thieves to kill. COME BACK HERE YOU SLIPPERY LITTLE TWITS, AND FACE ME LIKE REAL MEN!!! Oh, crap… now Lora's pissed. GET AWAY FROM ME, I HAVE COMPLETE CONTROL OF YOUR LIVES, REMEMBER!!! runs away screaming her head off

_Lora: _Well, at any rate, just enjoy Jina's story. She worked hard on it for you guys, you know!!!

_Chapter Five: Questions, Comrades, And Sneaky Business _

"WAKE UP CALL!!! GET UP YOU LAZY LOUTS, IT'S TIME TO GET ON THE MOVE!!!" a loud voice boomed across the encampment.

"Eek!!!" Lora squeaked confusedly as she shot straight up into a sitting position, startled at this abrupt interruption of her dreams. She then threw off her blankets leaped out of her bedroll. Pulling on a fresh shirt and skirt, Lora shoved her feet into her boots and clasped her belt holding her daggers and her small bag she carried vulneraries and stuff like that for battle, and what she stole from the enemy, in. around her waist. For the final touch, she swirled her cloak into place on her shoulders. She then stalked out of the tent, searching for who had woken up the whole camp so rudely.

The wake-up call had been from Sain, the flirtatious but loyal and funny cavalier. He was presently rolling on the ground, laughing and clutching his sides as the members of the mercenary troop all stumbled out of their tents sleepily, not even out of their pajamas (and unfortunately some of them wore rather embarrassing ones with teddy bears and bunnies on them); and a bunch of them were brandishing their weapons, thinking they were under attack.

Kent, the serious and solemn cavalier with red-orange hair walked up to the laughing green-armored man still rolling around and kicked him sharply in the side. Sain began instead rolling in pain, and moaning as well, (because Kent _was _wearing his armor, complete with iron boots) and just generally making a spectacle of himself.

Lora sighed, but smiled slightly at the cavalier's antics. He was just trying to lighten the mood of the camp, for it had been choking them all with its dismalness and tension. They were fast approaching Caelin, and all of them were wondering what would happen once they got there, and afterwards. Would Marquess Caelin still be alive, to be at last reunited with his grand-daughter, Lady Lyndis? Or would they arrive too late? Lora shook her head to chase these thoughts away, and headed to where the other members of Lyn's Legion were huddling next to the large campfire. Then, she helped Florina and a new mercenary who had joined, Wil (who was a young archer from Pherae) cook breakfast.

Sitting on a log near the fire by herself, silently eating her portion of the meal, Lora was thinking about Oliver. _'Where is he, right now? Is he at school, chatting with our friends? Is he just waking up? When will he come back? When can I see him again? We never even got a chance to chat after our first battle together, and I still haven't gotten a moment alone with him. We're always fighting off enemies, so our conversations are kind of awkward………'_

_The previous battle…_

Lora: Oliver, hi, how are you? she stabs a nearby bandit, he gurgles and dies

Oliver: Oh, hey Lory-I mean, Lora. I'm doing great. LOOK OUT LYN, THERE'S AN ARCHER COMING IN TOO CLOSE TO SERRA!!! --- Are you settling in well?

Lora: Oh, yeah, everyone's so kind. I'm doing well adjusting to life in almost constant battle and--- oh hold on, one sec--- she slices a bandit with her daggers, then dodges his attack, and then slice, and the bandit dies

Where were we?

Oliver: Are you getting tired of being part of this world yet? KENT, GO KILL THAT BANDIT TRYING TO ATTACK FLORINA WITH AN AXE!!! …..loser bandits…..

Lora: Yeah, I know, I hate them too. leaps forward, slices viciously at a bandit in a critical attack, he dies

Oliver: Yeah, hey, I just wanted to say--- SAIN GO RESCUE ERK HE'S ALMOST DEAD!!!

Lora: You wanted to tell me that you want Sain to rescue Erk---???

Oliver: No, no, it's just- I just- Oh- Loryn I've really missed you!!!

Lora: Oliver, I've missed you so much, too. stabs a bandit coming up behind him as she hugs Oliver It's Lora now, by the way.

Oliver: Oh, right….

_In the present_

_'So yes,' _Lora thought to herself as she ate another bite of her food, _'Battlefields aren't the greatest places for conversations. But I miss him so much, and I just want to have a little time to spend with my best friend and my brother, is that too much to ask for? I miss him so much, and the short talks we try to have while fighting aren't good enough. He's the only family I've got in this world, besides Janelle, and she's not even here. I-just-want to be close to him again, and make sure he knows I forgive him for hurting my feelings so badly the night I came here. Does he know that? Does he know I still love him, even if we're not as close, even though we're in two separate worlds? Does he still love me? Am I still his twin sister to him?' _Lora was desperate for answers, but had no way of getting them, so all she ended up doing by asking herself these questions was getting frustrated. She needed a distraction.

Fortunately, at that moment one came, in the form of someone wanting to sit down to eat their food in peace.

"Uh, um, excuse me, but, I, uh, could I sit next to you?" a timid voice said. It was Florina, the extremely shy and quiet Pegasus Knight who was afraid of men. Lora supposed that either a: the girl was lonely and wanted someone to talk to who wasn't loud, obnoxious, or a scary man, or b: she just wanted to sit down next to a female, so she wouldn't have to sit in the only other open spot, next to Sain, the flirtatious and most scariest man of them all, at least to Florina.

"Go ahead." Lora said in reply. The Peg Knight smiled slightly, relieved, and sat down next to her. "Thanks!" Florina said. "I-I don't mean to seem nosy, b-but you seem to be thinking about something very hard, and for a v-very long time. Is something bothering you? P-perhaps I can help…"

"No, Florina, that's okay. I'm just thinking about my brother. You know, the tactician? Yes, he's my twin. I was just wondering if he was okay, and what he was doing this very moment…" Lora said softly. _'And whether or not he really missed me, because all I can hear in my head are the cruel words he said to me my last night in the real world. I know he meant them, so now how does he feel??? This situation has taken us so many places; I can't tell where we're going now. Is he glad I'm gone, so he can be his own person?'_ She added silently to herself.

"Oh, I see. I'm sure he's doing fine. He is not stupid, your brother. He will be all right, I know. And I'm also positive he's thinking the same thing about you." Florina said. Lora noticed that as the Peg Knight settled into the conversation, she stuttered less, and was basically just easier to talk to.

"How do you know how a brother and a sister feel towards each other? Do you have a brother, too?" Lora asked.

"No, sadly. I always wanted a little brother, but instead I have two older sisters who constantly fight with each other. They baby me so much, just 'cause I'm the youngest. It gets really annoying. I can take care of myself!" Florina said this last part with vindication. Obviously, it was a topic she had ranted about a lot, and was the bane of her existence. Lora understood perfectly.

"Yeah, I know how you feel. My brother, even though he's only a few moments older than me, acts like he's really older than me by a lot. He sometimes acts like I'm too fragile to do difficult things, and other times he urges me to grow up and try out new things. I never know what he wants, or what the right thing to do is."

"Yes, I know. Are all older siblings like this, you think? I would guess so, but you can never be sure. Maybe it's just _our_ siblings who are abnormal." Florina joked, and the two girls who were fast becoming friends giggled. All of the sudden, their pleasant conversation was interrupted when Sain ambled over.

"Why hello, beauteous Florina. Your smile seems to be glowing extra-bright this lovely morning. And hello to you too, the ever-gorgeous Lora." He said.

"Eh, uh, um, I- g-good morning t-to you, t-too, Sir S-sain." Florina stuttered anxiously, looking very disgruntled and nervous, very different from how she had been a moment before, chatting easily with only Lora.

"Yeah, nice try there, buddy. Go harass some other innocent young maiden; I'm not in the mood." Lora teased. She and Sain had met a while ago, and had talked a bit, getting to know each other as friends. The first time he had flirted seriously with her, Lora had told him she was unavailable, and unwilling; and Sain told her that was fine, but he could not just see her beauty and not comment on it, that was against his nature Besides, he already kind of liked someone as more than just a pretty object to flirt with. They had an easy-relationship, Sain flirting, Lora teasingly rebuking him, and them just basically having a little fun for once. The silly cavalier did have a way of brightening up the atmosphere. Lora also knew that this silly cavalier's non-stop flirting might come to an end shortly, for she had noticed him ignoring other females in the camp and staring only at Florina, and the several times he had shown off in an attempt to impress her. Those attempts were rather amusing to watch, as Sain almost always goofed up a little. It was obvious she was the one Sain had told Lora he liked.

Lora made a mental note to herself: put in a few good words for Sain when talking to Florina, and try to help Florina overcome her shyness, at least where Sain was concerned. For Lora knew her brother well, and when playing FE he never concentrated on the support conversations, he just fought. But Lora loved to get the fighters coupled up, to see them grow stronger to protect the ones they cared for. She felt love was just as important as the killing in this world, her world, Oliver's game world. But she knew Oliver tended to ignore the support conversations, so it was up to _her_ to hook everyone up. Lora was quite looking forward to this. Now, instead of focusing on keeping everyone alive while at the same time trying to get them to talk, she could focus on their love lives while Oliver kept everyone alive.

"Well, a man can never get anywhere if he doesn't try." Sain replied, sighing dramatically. "Although, I still find it hard to believe that two you can so easily resist my charms. Where did I go wrong?" he wailed.

Florina quietly giggled, (making Sain smile ridiculously widely, Lora noted) and Lora said to him, "Welcome to Teenager-dom; a rocky terrain of hormones, broken hearts, and teen angst," in a falsely serious announcer-voice, "And having gorgeous females like us turn you down is just another part of it."

Florina giggled again, louder this time, and Lora realized that she was finally reaching her goal of making Florina more comfortable around Sain. Sain, in the meantime, laughed slightly at Lora's joke, but mainly stared at Florina, enraptured by her smile. _'Good,' _she thought. _'Now, if only my attempts at actually having a real conversation with Oliver, my own twin for Elimine's sake, were progressing as quickly.'_

Pretending to pout and look all moody, Sain plonked down on Lora's right side, (since Florina was on her left), and then the three began to casually chat. Well, Sain and Lora teased each other, and Florina shyly put in a few words (but otherwise she didn't say much). All three were relaxed, and were happy, especially since they all needed a break just to be teenagers again, not mercenaries who killed people on a day-to-day basis, and to just talk. Lora was silent for a moment for a moment as she paused to see what the other people were doing. Sir Kent and Lady Lyn were earnestly discussing something, Kent looking down at his feet, and Lyn trying to force him to look her in the eyes. Erk was looking disgruntled while attempting to read some magic tome, while Serra blabbered away in an incessant stream of chatter into his ear. Wil the archer was cleaning up the breakfast dishes, humming softly, and Matthew was nowhere to be seen.

Lora had a sneaking suspicion the thief was lurking about in unsuspecting victims' tents, taking little things no one would notice gone, to sell. She had noticed him slinking around camp during breakfast, peering at everyone else to make sure his victims weren't in their tents to catch him. Suddenly, Lora had an idea. Why not go and catch the thief red-handed?

A thief is a thief, after all, and Lora was just like any other. She was eager to catch him to get an advantage on her competition. If she caught him, she could probably force him to owe her favors (always a good thing to have over people, they were kind of like insurance, actually), and she could show him that she was a rival after all, not some two-bit pickpocket who didn't know what she was doing. And if she caught him first, she could make it so if he ever caught her stealing something he couldn't turn her in to get rid of her, his only competition. Matthew ever catching her was unlikely, but still... It was always nice to have advantages over people. And, she knew Matthew was a better thief than she was at the moment, since she had only been one for a short period of time, (though she had always liked taking stuff from Oliver when they were kids, and hiding it, so he would get frustrated), so if she made it so he couldn't get rid of her, she would be that much better off. This world was a lot harder to live in than she had originally thought, so she knew she had to do what she could to make sure the more experienced thief couldn't get the better of her.

Making her decision, she stood up abruptly, causing Sain and Florina to look up from their conversation, startled. "Oh, I'll be back soon. I just remembered that I had to do something." Lora said by way of explanation, and then walked away silently. Lora knew how to walk without making a sound, like a hunter or, say, a thief would, because she had learned this skill in her black-belt karate class from when she lived in the real world. Whenever she walked that way, it reminded her of her old life, in Oliver's world, and only made her miss him more.

After a short walk, Lora stood waiting in a shadowy area in the center of the circle of tents that the small group of fighters slept in, barely breathing as she listened for any sound that would betray the location of her rival thief. Finally, she heard a rustle, and saw Matthew leave a tent with a bundle under his cloak. She followed him around, lurking in the shadows cast by the rising sun, as he visited several tents. Lora knew he was getting more stuff now than he would usually take (as a precaution, to not alert the victims to the fact that they were being taken advantage of, thieves wouldn't take many things, from any more than two or three people) but since they didn't know when they would get a chance to visit any stores soon, so he had to get rid of the evidence quickly.

Sneaking behind him, she waited until he entered another tent, (one that Lora was pretty sure belonged to Serra and Erk), and then entered it behind him, making only a tiny rustle of sound as she went through the tent's door flaps.

Lora saw him crouching down to go through someone's open saddlebags (_'Silly mercenaries always making it easier for us to steal stuff.' _she thought sardonically), and then spoke.

"Hey there, Mattie. Whatcha up to?" she said softly, teasingly.

The young thief leapt about three feet in the air, startled, then slowly turned around to face her. Lora noted he had hidden his loot bag in the pocket hidden in the folds of his cloak, trying to appear innocent. "Oh, hey Lora. I'm just, uh, getting Serra's mirror for her, so she can do her hair perfectly or something…"

"I see. And you are also getting Kent his wallet, Sain a few of his gold coins, and Lyn her favorite bracelet, the one from her collection of things she gets from bandits she kills??? How nice of you. That is, _if_ they're aware you're taking them their belongings." Lora said sweetly. She walked up to him, reached into his cloak's large pocket, and pulled out his loot-bag, smirking devilishly. Matthew winced, and then grinned sheepishly, knowing he was caught.

"Ah, fine. So you caught me. Here is my loot, now if you'll excuse me I have to go get a vulnerary for my wounded dignity." Matthew said jokingly. _'How did I not hear her coming,' _he thought to himself,_ 'And I'm supposed to be the more experienced thief. Oh well, too late now. She can't do too much to me, after all. She's inexperienced. Though she appears to have a natural talent for sneaking.'_

"Not so fast Mattie. Don't go anywhere. I'm sure you've realized how easy it would be for me to bust you with all these people's belongings." She said. Matthew winced again, cursing inwardly as he realized she spoke the truth. "Yes?..." he inquired apprehensively, wondering what she wanted from him.

"Oh, don't look so grim." Lora laughed. "I'm not going to kill you, or turn you in to Sir Kent, or anything horrid like that. I'm offering you a deal. I know first-hand that we all could always use a little more money, that's why people like you and me do this job. So I'll offer up an exchange to you, so you can still make a profit, but I still get something in return."

Matthew looked thoughtful for a moment; then decided anything she could do to him couldn't be _that_ bad, and he would still make some money. "I'm listening." He said carefully.

"Excellent. I'll let you keep what you just worked so hard to take, _if _you sign this paper saying that you owe me three favors; and that I completely have control over when and what you do for me to repay them, and you _have _to do exactly what I say, _if_ I cash these in."

"Three?!? _Three _favors? Why not only one?" Matthew grumbled angrily. _'She knows more about trickery and thieving than I thought. I underestimated her, even if she is only a newbie.' _He noted to himself.

"Because; you owe me one favor for me letting you keep your merchandise, another favor for not turning you in this very instant by screaming at the top of my lungs, and a third favor because I have you in my mercy at the moment and I say I can get a third. Keep in mind that I can be very, very loud when I wish too." Lora stated simply. Man, this was too good to be true. He was still looking affronted at her demands, but as he really did have no choice, was nodding his head. Finally, he would regret ever making fun of her when she messed up and got caught stealing something, even when he knew she was just starting out.

"Fine. Gimme that paper." The other thief said grudgingly. "I just know I'm going to regret this, but I need the money, and I can't afford to let you take away this chance and any future ones. So I'll sign."

Lora smirked happily and held out a sheaf of parchment and a quill she had stolen from Erk, (since he had so many anyway, she decided it wouldn't matter if he "lost" one). Matthew took the paper, and with Lora peering intently over his shoulder, signed it. Lora then quickly grabbed it out of his hands, rolled it up, and stuffed it into her own cloak.

"There, was that so bad?" she teased. She couldn't figure out why, but she suddenly wanted to be closer to him. She had only felt this feeling once before, in 7th grade when she had "crushed" on some guy, and gotten her heart broken by him. (Oliver had beaten him up and gotten detention for that). But she didn't like Matthew, did she? He was her rival, that's all. She couldn't possibly like him….

Matthew finally cracked. He wasn't used to being in this kind of situation, to being manipulated, especially by fifteen year old girls. He hated being stuck like this, without a loophole or an escape route. Angrily, he stepped up right in her face and grabbed the front of her cloak, pulling her close to him. He noticed how his face was no more than two inches from hers. He told himself not to focus on their nearness, and then he spoke, in a cold voice.

"You had better keep your eyes open, Lora my dear. I won't pass up an opportunity to take that paper back, and once I'm free of you, I _will _get you back for this." He growled. He hated being controlled, (it made him nervous), especially by her. How could she be doing this to him, she just became a thief recently, according to her and the tactician Oliver. '_She was lucky, that's all. Beginner's luck_, _all it is.' _He told himself.

Lora grinned sadistically at him, though she was _definitely_ aware of how close his face, his mouth, was to hers. She could tell he was painfully aware of it too, as she let the silence drag out a little longer, not saying anything, just looking him proudly in the eyes.

_'What would Leila think?' _he thought wildly, at the awkward situation he had placed himself in. Her mouth was so close to his, if either of them moved even the tiniest bit forward……. He didn't want to think about that. He loved Leila!

He was then abruptly startled when Lora pulled lose from his grip on her cloak, and then quickly ducked around him and straightened up behind him, and then placing her hands on his shoulders, and leaning forward ever so slightly, just a little closer to him. He shuddered involuntarily, at how close she was to his back. He could feel her warm breath on the side of his neck, and he could her hands resting lightly on his shoulders. The two were so close together, he could feel her heart beating, and she could feel his too. Lora could also feel breathe in sharply, in shock at how close she was to him. She was kind of shocked at her own behavior, as well. She mentally shrugged her nerves away, and then put her arms even further around his neck and torso, like a hug between lovers. He stiffened momentarily, and then he relaxed the tiniest bit, and he still did not pull away from her.

_'What am _I_ doing? What is _she _doing? What are _we_ doing? And why do I like it?' _Matthew thought somewhat hysterically.

Lora was busy telling herself she was only acting like this out of her loneliness and frustration; she didn't really like him or anything. She was just desperate for attention, that's all.

She decided to break the silence, at last.

"Well, Mattie-o, I'm looking forward to that day with bated breath. In the meantime, I will enjoy watching your attempts to get this paper from me. It should be interesting, even if it is futile." She said softly, her breath tickling his ear.

"Oh, and you might want to evacuate this tent, in oh, about five seconds." Then, she abruptly let go of his shoulders, stepped away form him, and leapt out of the back of the tent.

Lora was proud that she had heard the coming sound before he did. Maybe, she wasn't such a bad thief after all. Noticing she still had something of his, she grinned and went off in search of his tent.

Matthew just stood there dumbly, still in shock and thinking about how close together they had just been; but he then heard what had caused Lora to leave: footsteps approaching the tent he was in, without being invited by the owner.

"Crap," he said, and jumped out of the back of the tent just in time to avoid being seen by Serra, who had entered this tent (since Lora was right, it _was_ hers) to find a mirror to fix her hair.

Matthew then realized he didn't have his bag holding the objects he had stolen. He swore again softly as he realized Lora had again fooled him.

"I have to admit, she _does _have some skills, and natural talent. But I have experience, and better skills, so I'll get back at her eventually." He said to himself. He then walked to his tent slowly, keeping an eye out for the sneaky girl who had fooled him so completely. He could do nothing to her at the moment, even if he found her, for if he complained that she had gone back on her word and that he didn't owe her anything, she would bust him. He was thoroughly stuck, an unusual situation for him. He could usually slip out of anything, but she had him tight in her grasp.

Entering his own tent, he took off his cloak and shoved it in his pack, and right then something caught his eye. It was a note and the bracelet he had taken from Lyn's collection of "bandit loot", and they were taped to the fabric wall of his tent. _'I think you left this in my pocket "accidentally", so I decided I'd give it back. Sincerely, me.'_ it read in a flowing script. "Lora…" he groaned. And then he looked at his pillow. The rest of the things he had stolen, and his bag, were lying there, almost smugly, taunting him.

_The End _

((((((( _for now…_ )))))))

_Author's Note: _Hey all you Oliver fans, I'm sorry he isn't really in this chapter physically, though I do mention him and talk about him a lot in the first part. Anyways, my excuse as to _why_ he's not really in this chapter is that I was just working on building Lora some relationships with her fellow mercenaries. I think her and Florina will become really close friends, and maybe Sain too. Though Sain is going to be hooked up with Florina, I think. Oh, and yes, she and Matthew _may_ end up getting close to each other, but not _very _close just yet. Leila's still alive!!! I would NEVER make Matthew cheat on her, she rocks!!! She's one of my favorite characters, besides Matthew himself, of course. I also like Nino and Jaffar, I wrote a one-shot about them a while ago. I only got two reviews, too!!! Oh well. Speaking of reviews, thank you sooooooooo soooooooooo much to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter, I really and truly love you all for it!!! You guys are wonderful, really. I hope this story isn't disappointingly dull to you, or whatever. Don't be afraid to let me know what I could do better, I love getting better as a writer and you guys reviewing helps me do that. I love you all!!! Well, adios!!! I hope you liked this chapter. Reviewers, you rock!!!


	6. Saved By That Stupid Bell

** When Wishes Come True **

_Jina: _ Hola mis amigos! Or konnichiwa!!! Or bonjour !!! Or whatever the heck language you speak, I'm basically just saying "HI". That's all. Yay for multi-lingual people like me!!!! (not really, I just like to think so…)

_Matthew: _ What the heck are you going on about now? I thought this was the part of the fic where you just say that you don't own FE, not write a whole flippin play!!

_Jina: _ HEY!!! Did I say you could break the fourth wall??? NO!!! I DIDN'T!!! Get back in your place, you little creep!!!

_Matthew: _Why are you so cold and bitter?

_Jina: _ Because, it's more fun than being nice. If you're nice to people, they take advantage of your niceness and walk all over you. So when I'm not nice, so I usually get what I want.

_Matthew: _ Is that so??? I just thought you were naturally that much of a grump. And why are we talking about this??? You still haven't said anything about the disclaimer yet, you're just rambling nonsensically. Again.

_Jina: _Well, if YOU'RE so smart and hilarious, why don't YOU do the flippin disclaimer???

_Matthew: _Maybe I will! Hey everybody, I'm Matthew, king of Elibe, and I hereby decree that this insane girl does not own Fire Emblem (thank Elimine for that…).

_Jina: _You are SO not the king of anything, Matthew!

_Hector: _Yeah, I'M the king of Elibe!!!

_Jina: _No you're not!!! You're only a stupid "Marquess" from Ostia. Hey, wait a minute, why are you in this conversation??? You haven't even entered my story line yet!

_Matthew: _Yeah, why ARE you here???

_Hector: _I dunno, 'cause I felt like it.

_Jina: _Note to readers that is SO a really RETARDED reason for doing something. Hector's just being another fourth-wall breaking idiot, don't mind him.

_Hector: _HEY!!! I'M NOT AN IDIOT!!! COME HERE YOU .LITTLE PUNY AUTHOR AND LET ME SMASH YOU WITH THIS SHINY AXE!!!

_Jina: _You see my point. Anyways, I forgot if Matthew, Sir Sarcastic-a-lot himself told you the disclaimer, but I don't own FE. Enjoy the story!!!

_Matthew: _Sir Sar-cast-ic-a-lot??? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA… wow what a lame name… gets pulverized by an angry Jina uggghhhh…

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

_ Chapter Six: Saved By That Stupid Bell… _

"Lora! Hey, Lora! Wait up a minute! I need to talk to you!" Lora heard a voice call to her as she walked to a nearby creek to bathe. Man, she felt grimy. The mercenaries hadn't seen an inn in days, so Lora (and many other people as well) just gave up and decided to clean herself in a cold creek. Lora was headed there now, but she turned to face whoever was coming. "You rang???" Lora asked calmly as Florina ran up to her, panting slightly. She had obviously run to catch up, and Lora was curious as to what the Pegasus Knight need to talk to her so desperately. "What???" Florina asked looking confused. Lora sighed. _'21st century humor and slang is so wasted on them.' _She thought to herself. "What do you need, Flo?" She tried again, using Florina's nickname. "Oh, right, well… I um, needed to ask you something about S-sain…" Florina said quietly, glancing around to see if the cavalier was nearby. Lora grinned.

"What do you need to know??? I can't guarantee I'll know the answer, but I'll do my best."

"Well…" Florina began nervously, looking very anxious and twisting her hands together.

"Yes?" Lora prompted. She had an idea about what Florina was going to ask, but she decided to torture the girl a little anyway.

"Ummm… do you… is he… do you know if… well…"

"Get to the point, Florina. I got a nice bath in ice cold water calling my name." "IS SIR SAIN SEEING ANYONE???" she finally blurted out.

"Romantic-wise, I mean." She added. Lora chuckled at her flustered friend before answering.

"No, Sain is NOT dating anyone. He just flirts with all the girls because he finds us all 'beautiful' or 'charming' or 'kind'. He always has a compliment for anyone, and he never hesitates to say them. Even though it lands him in sticky situations quite frequently. Like when he tried to hit on you when you first joined the mercenary band and Lyn got really fired up at him." Lora answered, chuckling at the memory.

"How do you know that? You weren't with us then." Florina asked.

"Oh, I heard it from Oliver." Lora says quickly. She wasn't sure how to tell these people that their lives were just a game to people like her and her brother, and all other video-gamers. That they didn't really matter to a lot of people. That… ugh, Lora got confused herself thinking about how many people all played FE and were being the tactician for Lyn and Eliwood and Hector, in different versions of the game besides this one, (which obviously was the one belonging to Oliver). _'Am I in other kids' versions of FE too? Or am I only a character in Oliver's version? I'll have to ask Oliver…'_ she thought.

"Anyways," she continued to Florina after a short silence, "He's open game to all girls who want to try for him. Interested in him, are you?" Lora teased.

Florina immediately blushed a nice shade of tomato-red, (which had been Lora's goal) and squeaked out, "NO! No! I was, just, uh, curious. I don't know much about him, th-that's all."

"Oh, really??? That's a shame, 'cause I was really hoping you liked me. I guess not, huh? What is it about me that turns girls off? Do I smell funny or something?"

Sain himself said, as he popped out of nearby bushes. His brown hair was wet, and he had a towel over his arm and a bar of soap in his hand, so Lora assumed he had taken the opportunity of a nearby water source to clean himself as well. What was most surprising about him was that he wasn't wearing his customary headband. _'He looks really, well, different without it.'_ Lora thought. Florina was probably too busy hyperventilating in shock and blushing an even deeper shade of red than a tomato this time to notice his lack of a headband. Lora felt kind of bad for her. She had probably NOT wanted Sain to know that she liked him, and apparently he had heard their entire conversation about him. She had denied liking him, but it was obvious, and Lora knew Sain knew it as well. She had forced him into letting Florina come to terms with her feelings herself as soon as Sain noticed she liked him, and not sweeping her off her feet and riding off into the sunset. But mostly all Lora felt for the humiliated Peg Knight was amusement, and relief. She had been waiting to see if Florina would confess her emotions to either her or Sain, and now that she had inadvertently told them both, Lora decided the situation could only get better. She was wrong, terribly wrong.

Florina burst into tears and ran off into the trees sobbing. Sain looked shocked, lost, and confused as she ran away.

"What did I do this time?" he asked of Lora, who was smirking slightly.

"It's up to you now, Sain my dear. Go comfort her and tell you the same way."

"How do you know I like her?" he asked disgruntled.

"Oh, I have my sources… no I'm just kidding. It was obvious. I was really getting sick of waiting for you two to admit to yourselves and each other how you felt. Now, go comfort your lady." Lora replied.

"Right then, okay." Sain mumbled. For the first time, it was apparent he was nervous about talking to a girl. Lora grinned smugly as he trotted off in the direction Florina had fled in.

"At last, I can get clean!" she sighed, and walked off to the creek. She had just finished bathing and had a blanket wrapped around herself as she headed towards where she had hidden her clothes, when she stopped suddenly and looked up……. Just in time to see Matthew leaping down out of the branches of a tree to land in front of her.

"Matthew!!! You had better not have been in that tree that whole time!" Lora snapped at him. Geez, the thief was persistently annoying. Lora knew exactly what words would come out of his mouth next, and they did.

"WHERE IS THAT STUPID OATH-PAPER!!!" he cried angrily. "I can't find it anywhere! Where did you hide it?!?"

"Well, I'm sure as heck not gonna tell you. You'll never find it; I guarantee you, so would you please stop looking for it? I'm getting sick of stealing the stuff you take from me back. It's getting annoyingly repetitive."

"If you would just give me that paper, I wouldn't need to go through your stuff!"

"A promise is a promise, Mattie-my-boy. You promised me three favors, and I'll be darned if I don't make you keep that promise."

"I hate being manipulated." Matthew said in a quieter tone of voice, sounding dejected. Lora felt kind of bad. Operative words being "Kind of". She knew that if the situation were reversed, she would be desperate to take back that promise as well. She had the Ostian thief pretty much under her thumb, at least until she cashed in the favors.

"Oh, relax, Mattie. I'm not going to make you do anything _terrible, _like making you dance around in front of everyone in one of Serra's purple-ish pink-ish dresses. Hey, wait, there's an idea…" she teased. She'd never do that, it'd be too cruel. Unless he did something cruel to her first, that is…

"WHAT?!? NO! You- you wouldn't!" Matthew cried in a panicked voice, since she actually _could _make him do just that. Normally, Matthew wouldn't let promises he made control him not always keeping them. But he couldn't back out of this one. 'A thief was only as good as his word'. That is, concerning other thieves. Normal people were excluded from that rule.

Lora just started laughing hysterically at the expression on his face, still holding her blanket up around her. She was debating whether or not Matthew would let her get by him so she could go put her stuff on, when he finally stopped glaring at her face long enough to stare at the rest of her. Lora could see the exact moment he realized she had nothing on but the blanket. His eyes widened, his cheeks grew really red, and his left eye twitched a little.

"Uh, I think I'll let you get, uh, changed, now…" he mumbled. "Sorry 'bout that."

Lora just giggled. "Hmmm… I would almost say you should owe me FOUR favors now."

Matthew choked. "FOUR?!? I don't even think there should have been THREE, and you want ANOTHER one?!?" he asked incredulously.

"You know, Mattie dearest, if you keep shouting like this, someone _might_ come check up on me, and see us in this, well, _awkward_ situation." Lora said softly, as she slowly began to walk around him to get to the tree where her clothes were hidden. Matthew blushed again, though whether it was from anger or embarrassment Lora couldn't say. _'Probably both.' _She thought after a moment's reflection. She grinned.

"You annoying little"

"Uh-uh-uh, I wouldn't finish that sentence if I were you. I can have the whole camp here in two seconds by yelling 'sexual harassment' at the top of my lungs. So be nice, or be mobbed by angry people with sharp weapons." Lora said smoothly.

"You wouldn't." Matthew stated. Lora merely raised an eyebrow. "Wanna bet?" she said.

"Fine, go get, uh, clothed, and we'll continue this _later_." He said menacingly. Lora just smiled sardonically.

"Very well. It's a date. See you later, Mattie-o." Lora chirped, then walked past him, grabbed her clothes, and went into the nearby bushes to get dressed.

_'This could be interesting…'_she thought to herself, amused at the more experienced thief's desire for vengeance. She knew he would never find the paper he signed, the one that made decreed that Matthew had to grant her three favors of her choosing, because she had hidden it in a place she knew he'd never look. She smiled to herself at her own ingenious. He'd probably been looking right at it several times without noticing it, taking it for something else. Finished getting ready, she walked out of the bushes to get the soap and bathing cloth she had accidentally left by the creek, only to find them gone.

"Matthew…" she said flatly. She would just have to take it back, later.

After a dinner, and after the moon had risen slightly and the sun had gone down, Lora and Florina were sitting in Florina's tent, talking about what had happened with Sain. Or rather, Lora was teasing her good friend mercilessly and chasing the full story out, while Florina grew flustered and embarrassed.

"So, Florina, you two were in those woods for quite some time. Care to share what happened?" Lora asked the Peg Knight in a teasing tone of voice. Florina immediately blushed a nearly fluorescent red, and began stuttering indignantly.

"Lora! I can't believe you would ever think that! You should be ashamed of yourself for thinking those thoughts! I"

"Geez, Florina, I'm just kidding you. Relax. I'm your friend; I just want some details of your encounter with Lover-Boy in the woods after you ran off."

"Oh. Well, hey wait! Sain's not a Lover-Boy!"

"Florina, I was kidding. Just tell me what happened!"

"Right. Well, after I, um, fled, I ran off to hide in a tree"  
"IN a tree? Wow, you must have been more embarrassed then I thought to risk climbing a tree in that rather short skirt of yours." Lora interrupted.

"Yes, well, you see my mistake. Stop interrupting! Anyways, you're right"

"Of course I'm right. I always am."

"ANYWAYS," Florina continued, glaring at Lora for interrupting her. Lora fell silent, smirking.

"Anyways, climbing a tree was not a wise decision because I was wearing my usual uniform, and I can never get down. So, I got up there for a few moments, still crying a little because I was so utterly humiliated, and I realized I was stuck. I was contemplating how to get down when I heard someone coming. It was Sain. I really wished you had kept him with you, Lora!!! I was so embarrassed, and then here he comes onto another embarrassing situation for me."

"Sorry about that."

"No problem. So I was holding still, trying to blend in with the tree, when Sain comes into my view. I meant to be silent, but I gasped in surprise, and he heard me and looked up. And there I was, looking like some kind of mentally challenged tree-animal or something, and he just started laughing. I got really tired of being laughed at really fast, so I let go of the branch I was clinging to and fell on top of him."

"Lucky for him you're underweight and you don't wear much armor."

"Sure. At any rate, I'm lying on top of him, me shouting at him to stop being such a jerk and laughing at me, him shouting at me to get off, of him. Then, we both get sick of yelling and being ignored, so we stop. That's when I realized that I was in a very, um…"

"Compromising?"

"_Awkward, _awkward position, lying on top of him like that. So I got really nervous and started stuttering and mumbling apologies, and then he goes and _laughs at me again! _I was really frustrated again, so I slapped him across his face, and"

"Wait! _You _actually _slapped _a man??? Oh my goodness, call the record books!"

"Oh, shut up, Lora. So then we're both really quiet for a while. Then I finally came to my senses and rolled off of him. I felt kind of bad for slapping him, so I said sorry, and he said it was fine, he was used to being hit by girls. He looked kind of sad, though, so I just kept laying there next to him in the grass under the tree, and we-talked."

"Talked?"

"Talked."

"_Just _talked?"

"_Just _talked."

"You only

"Okay you can shut up now Lora. _Yes, _we just _talked." _Florina said exasperatedly.

"What about?" Lora asked. Man, Florina was hard to get secrets out of.

"Well, about stuff I talk to you about: our families, our friends, our hobbies, what we want to do after we save Lord Hausen." Florina said. Lora smiled.

"I'm really happy for you, Florina. It's great that you're getting better at talking to males, at last. Good for you."

"_Speaking_ of males, do you have anyone you have your eye on in this group yet?" Florina asked mischievously. Lora smiled softly.

"No, not really. Most of them seem to be focused only on fighting, like Sir Kent, or on learning, like Erk. And _others_ are too focused on stealing back certain papers to notice the girl in possession of them." She said, thinking of Matthew and his sly grin. "Although," she added to make a little fun of Florina, "Sain is pretty nice…"

Florina gasped. "No! You can't oh, I mean, um, yes, he's a very nice man."

Lora laughed. "Oh come on Florina, I don't like Sain. Especially since I know you do."

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not…" Florina said weakly. She knew Lora would win, especially since she was right. For some odd reason, Florina _did _like Sain. Lora only grinned, sensing victory.

"But I bet _you _like Erk!" Florina shot back.

"Wrong." Lora said calmly. Florina decided she wasn't lying, so she guessed again.

"Kent?"

"Wrong again."

"Wil?"

"I don't even know him, so, definitely no."

"Well, um, who else… Matthew?" Florina asked again.

"No…"

"You DO! You like MATTHEW! I knew it!" Florina squealed excitedly.

"Shhhhhhh! Be quiet, you'll make the whole camp think that's true! I so do not like Matthew!" Lora snapped.

"Yes, you do, admit it." Florina teased, happy to get revenge on the evasive thief-girl who was one of her best friends at last.

"Never. Denial is one of my secrets to a happy life." Lora said. She remembered a time she had said his to one of her friends from Oliver's world, Lydia. It had been a much similar situation, too, and it struck Lora as slightly amusing that some things never change, no matter _what_ kind of girl your best friend is, a street-smart mall-lover or a shy winged-horse rider.

Florina stayed silent, thinking this over, not quite sure to say.

_Outside Florina's Tent_

Matthew stood absolutely still in shock, right outside Florina's tent. He had overheard Lora talking to Florina and he had stopped to eavesdrop, hoping she might mention the oath-paper and its location. He had heard them discussing something that apparently happened in the woods between Florina and Sain the cavalier from Caelin. Then, Lora had started teasing Florina about liking Sain. (Matthew quickly realized that Lora enjoyed teasing everyone, not in a nasty way though, just for fun) Then, he had heard his own name. He had been shocked to hear the Pegasus knight guess that Lora liked _him, _Matthew, and was even more shocked to hear Lora's voice grow strained as she vehemently denied any feelings for him. Matthew had no idea why, but this information stung a little inside. He couldn't figure it out. He couldn't _possibly _like Lora, could he? No, he was just interested in getting that darn paper back. He didn't like her, he couldn't. He was in love with Leila. He was sure of this, at least, for whenever he thought of her, his throat got all choked up and his stomach flopped around and his heart thumped wildly. But whenever he thought of Lora, he got all nervous and choked up too.

Shaking his head to try and clear his thoughts, he pushed that issue to the back of his mind to be dealt with later. He should be listening to see if Lora would mention the paper now. But the conversation had come to a pause. _Ack, what if they come out!' _he thought wildly. He immediately tried to creep away as fast but as quiet as he could. Unfortunately, Matthew stepped on and broke a twig with a "snap!", and he froze, then shook his head and ran to behind the neighboring tent. He heard only a tiny rustle, but he realized it was Lora, probably coming to see who was eavesdropping. Swearing at his clumsiness in his head, he slowly crouched lower, hoping Lora would not find him.

"Hmmm…" he heard he say softly. He heard nothing after that, and realized that Lora either went back into the tent, or was walking around in search of whoever had been listening. He guessed she was searching for him, since she wasn't the type to give up that soon.

Finally, after a few agonizing minutes of waiting in anxious silence, Matthew heard another tiny rustle, and assumed she had re-entered the tent. He let out a quiet breath in relief and was about to creep away when all of the sudden…

"Gotcha." Lora whispered from behind him. Matthew flinched in surprise, and then said simply, "Crap."

"Having fun intruding on other people's conversations?" Lora asked in a deceptively sweet and calm voice.

"I just want to get that stupid paper back, that's all. I was hoping you would tell Florina where it is. That's all." He said nervously. He hadn't meant to get her angry; he just hated having people holding favors over his head. He _really _hadn't wanted to get her angry. _'Too late now.' _He thought.

"Fine. Have it, see if I care. Just stop bugging me. It's really getting old." Lora hissed. She then reached into the top of her shirt and then brought her hand back out, holding the paper. Matthew gasped. He was a little embarrassed to grab onto it, since he knew where it had been hidden now. He was also ashamed that he hadn't thought to check in her clothes for it himself. But more than anything else, he was relieved.

"Ha! You have nothing on me anymore! I'm free!" he said triumphantly, waving the paper in front of her face. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Get out of here you nasty little"

"BANDITS!!! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK BY BANDITS!" a frantic voice called. "ALL FIGHTERS, PREPARE YOURSELVES!" It was Kent. He ran through the encampment, shouting for the other mercenaries to get ready. Immediately, the camp became a flurry of motion as the mercenaries leapt into action. Shouts were heard, and people ran about getting armor on and getting their weapons. Almost right away the sounds of battle were heard. Lora glared at Matthew, than smirked. "Saved by the bell, huh?" she said sarcastically. Matthew grinned back evilly. "You got that right." He said, then he ran off in the direction of the fighting, pulling out his daggers as he ran.

Lora smiled even eviler. "Hehehe… sucker." She said to herself. She reached into her shirt again and pulled out another paper: the real oath-paper. "Hehehe…" she laughed softly again as she put the true oath-paper into her original hiding place. Sure he would know where it was now, but would he be bold enough to get it from where it was? Still chuckling, Lora ran off to join the battle.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&_The Real World _&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Oliver swore. "Stupid bandits," he muttered angrily. "Where'd the hell did you come from, anyway? Stupid mountain bandits. Grrrr…" he continued. "Well, at least they're relatively weak. It should be an easy battle. Lora will be angry at the easiness, though. She always did like the challenging chapters in this game, the ones that made her think." He said softly.

He often talked to himself these days. He wasn't crazy, though, he was just still used to Loryn being there to talk to. He still missed her. Even though he knew she was all right, that she was still alive, and that he could keep her alive by merely pressing restarting the chapter if she ever died; he still wished things were the way they used to be. He still thought that maybe, if she just tried hard enough, she could come back to him. She said she couldn't, but he didn't want to accept that answer. He kept telling her to just keep trying, to not give up. She would just sigh and agree to do as he asked, but he knew she was only saying that to placate him. Was it so wrong that he wanted her back? It's not like her life was so much improved in there. She was a penniless mercenary who was in danger almost all the time. Here, she was loved and taken care of. He just wanted her back in his real life.

"Loryn…" he sighed. He also hated that she wouldn't answer to 'Loryn' now, insisting that he call her by her new name that old lady had given her, Lora. It made him nervous, like it was a sign that she was pulling farther and farther away from him, from her old life, her old self. Would she come back if she had the choice? Or would she stay? He was especially nervous about reaching the end of the game. What would happen if the game ended, and he hadn't gotten her out of it yet? Would she be stuck inside forever, roaming the lands there, without a mission or a cause?

What would happen? He was now nearing the end of Lyn's campaign, would she rejoin them in Eliwood's? Or would she disappear? He was so nervous, so confused. He had so many questions that neither he nor Loryn could answer. What would be the outcome of all of this? Would he lose her again, but this time forever?

_The End _

((((((( _for now_… )))))))

_Author's Note: _Hey everybody! Once again, I would just like to thank all my wonderful, extraordinary, amazing reviewers for being cool enough to take the time to tell me how they feel about my story. I hope you all (and the regular readers who didn't review) liked this chapter. I thought it was interesting, at least. Please tell me what you think, I love hearing from you all!!! Thanks again for continuing to read this story, I hope it remains interesting to you all. Let me know if you like this latest chapter, please!!! I really appreciate it. I love you all!!! Adios! Arrivederci! Aurevoir! Bye!


	7. What Happens Now?

** When Wishes Come True **

_Jina: _Hey everybody! I would just like to sincerely thank anyone and everyone who has reviewed my story, you peoples are awesome and you rock. And yes, I know, I put both Rebecca and Marcus in Chapters 5 & 6 even though they don't belong, (silly little me, my excuse is that I just haven't played Lyn's story in the game in forever, so I have trouble remembering who comes in the story where and does what exactly when and… oh well you know what I mean) but no worries, I fixed it! So anyways, reviewers… I love you!!! hugs all the wonderful reviewers Thank you so much!

_Oliver: _ Jina, shouldn't you be

_Jina: _Oh, hey there, Oliver! I take it that this means you're not mad at me for taking Loryn away anymore, right?

_Oliver: _Wrong. I'm, still really angry at you for that. And for setting my sister up with a thief! Come on, can't you hook her up with someone more honorable and worthy?

_Matthew: _Hey! I'm worthy! And sometimes I'm honorable!

_Jina: _Hey now, easy there guys. Relax, Ollie dearest, Matthew is a nice guy. Usually.

cough cough _sometimes _cough cough And I already apologized for taking Loryn away, I thought.

_Matthew: _Hey! I resent that! I'm always nice, you little twit! ...crap…

_Oliver: _ Matthew's a THIEF, for goodness sake. That explains it all. He doesn't make an honest living. And he's mean, apparently.

_Matthew: _I SO do too make an honest living! I work hard to get money, don't you know.

_Oliver: _Right, sure you do. ANYWAYS, Jina, you also made me sound like some angsty emo-type loser guy at the end of last chapter!

_Jina: _ Well, Oliver, I felt bad about leaving you out of the story for awhile, so I wrote you back in that way. Also, I wanted to make sure that even though you and Lora are happy now, you and the readers will never know how the story might end. I never said this was a fairy-tale, did I? I can't/won't promise you a happy ending. Loryn might never come into the real world, how about that???

_Oliver: _NOOOOOO!!! ( screamed in a darth vader-style way ) You wouldn't!

_Jina: _I would, or I might, or whatever. You know, every chapter I write, I start this first section out as only a disclaimer, but it ends up being this huge drama scene.

_Matthew: _It's your own fault, Jina. You're the one who's writing this, not us. We're just muses; you're in complete control of the situation.

_Jina: _Whatever, just do the stupid disclaimer, one of you.

_Oliver: _Well, Jina would like me to tell you that

_Matthew: _She doesn't own Fire Emblem, or us characters. Just her OCs.

_Oliver: _I was SO gonna say that!

_Jina: _Shut up, both of you! OK, sorry readers, I'll start the story now. Enjoy!

_ Chapter Seven: What Happens Now?_

"Well, what do we do now?" Florina asked glumly.

"How should I know?" Lora asked. Her, Serra, and Florina were standing by the side of the encampment, cleaning their weapons, (well, seeing as Serra doesn't have a weapon, and her staff never needs to be cleaned, the cleric was just standing there, somehow as tired as the rest of them) and waiting for the last person fighting (which was Kent) to kill off his opponent. With one last stab at the bandit with his iron lance, the enemy fell, dead, and Kent backed his horse up, face cold.

Lora felt kind of bad for him, sometimes. He was so lost in his sense of duty and knight hood, he was letting his youth slip away from him. He wouldn't let himself be loose, let himself have fun. He was so uptight, so stiff. It drove both Lora and Oliver crazy to watch Lyn attempt to get closer to him, and he would pull away, mumbling something about "duty" or "honor", or some stupid excuse like that.

"Well, if the battle is over, I'm going to bed. I need all the hours of beauty sleep that I can possibly fit in, in order to maintain my seemingly effortless appearance of beauty and grace." Serra declared, and began marching back to her tent when the three girls all heard a voice shout a message to all members of the troop.

"WAIT, EVERYBODY!!! Don't leave just yet! Lady Lyndis and I need to talk to you all!" It was Oliver. Serra sighed dramatically, and trudged back to where Oliver and Lady Lyn and a few other army members were waiting. Wil (who had recently become quite good friends with Lora and the other youngest fighters in the group, as they were only in their early teens) grinned mischievously, then sighed loudly and trudged heavily over to the others as well, creating a pretty good imitation of the haughty cleric. Florina giggled and trotted over to wait beside the cleric and the male archer. Lora herself merely smiled slightly and headed over to the waiting group.

"Hey, everyone. I would just like to congratulate you all on a job well done during this battle. I know it was difficult because it was a surprise attack and it's really late, but you all did an excellent job anyway. Good work." Oliver said clearly, head held high. Lora couldn't help but feel proud of him as a few cheers and other such triumphant noises were heard. _'He's really good at motivating people, that's for sure.' _Lora thought. Her brother really was a good tactician, better than she had ever been. Thank Elimine these people didn't know of her strategizing skills. Lora was really a lot happier to be helping the mercenaries this way, in the lines instead of behind them, fighting for the cause. Killing the evil-doers so they couldn't hurt anyone anymore, ever again. Being a thief was a lot more fun and satisfying then being a tactician, she decided. She then realized that Oliver and Lyn were taking turns describing the band of mercenaries' plan to save Lord Hausen. The group was getting closer and closer to Castle Caelin every day, and while Lora and Oliver knew they would get there in time to save the Marquess, the others were anxious.

Lora really wished she could tell Lyn that her only family member left was going to be okay, but she couldn't… Oliver had tried to explain this to her, but Lora, after being thoroughly confused, had just said whatever and agreed. Still, it hurt Lora inside whenever she saw Lyn staring off into the distance, gazing at someone who wasn't there, and getting more and more anxious by the day. Lora couldn't wait for Lyn to know that she wasn't alone in the world, that she had a family.

_'Speaking of family… I had better pay more attention to my only family here…' _Lora thought wearily. She glanced at Oliver, only to see he was still blabbering away. She hated meetings. They were so dull. She sighed softly to herself again, and decided to look around for Matthew.

After a few moments, she saw him a few people away from her, reaching into the cloak of Sain for a few of the gold pieces Sain always had on hand (so he could always treat a beautiful lady to a treat; roses, or chocolates, or something…). Lora smirked and ducked down behind Kent and Erk to go over behind Sain, where Matthew was currently lurking.

Matthew reached his hand into Sain's cloak. Man, this guy was too good to be true. He was so enraptured with staring at Florina the Peg Knight's butt (that was concealed, well, barely, in that really short skirt she somehow managed to ride a winged horse in) that he didn't notice Matthew behind him reaching into the pocket.

Lora snuck up behind Matthew and Sain. She watched as Matthew ever-so-carefully reached closer and closer to the pocket…

"Hi Sain!" Lora chirped quietly.

Matthew leapt back, hands empty, as Sain turned around.

"Oh, hey Lora. How are you, gorgeous?" Sain said cheerfully (albeit a little quieter than usual, as the meeting was still going on, though Lyn and Oliver were completely oblivious to the fact that besides Kent, Erk, and a handful of other serious, duty-driven people, not all of them were paying attention)

"I'm fine. Well, I guess we should pay attention to the meeting now. I only wanted to say 'hi'." Lora said sweetly. She glanced out of the corner of her eye to see Matthew still sulking a little, standing a few feet behind her and Sain.

"We will meet again, my dear!" Sain said dramatically. Lora loved how neither Oliver nor Lyn, or anyone else for that matter, was noticing them talking. _'Great observation skills, guys.' _She thought sarcastically. Lora nodded her head and then turned and walked back to where Matthew stood, paying a little attention to the meeting, but mostly gazing off into space.

"Hola, Matteo!" Lora said quietly. He just looked back at her blankly, confused.

"Hi, Matt." She sighed. She forgot that no one spoke Spanish in this world; in fact there weren't even any Hispanic people here to speak it (unfortunately, since it was Lora's favorite second language), or a Spain for those people to live and speak Spanish in. _'Duh.' _Lora thought to herself.

"I hope you enjoyed your little game back there." Matthew grumbled, not really angry. It was hard to stay mad at Lora for long, and she wasn't _that_ badly annoying, most times. Unless she was purposefully being irritating. Then, she could almost beat Serra the Annoying Cleric of Ostia herself in an 'annoy someone to death' contest.

"I can't help it; sometimes Ollie's little morality speeches get a little boring. Only 'cause I've heard them before. But he could just say, 'Hey yeah everybody, I believe in and trust in you all, and I'm sure we'll kick Lord Lundgren's sorry ass and save Lynnie's grandfather.' And get the same message across. I've heard this particular type of speech before, before kara- I mean fighting- tournaments." Lora said.

Only, like she had almost revealed, when she had heard the 'morality speeches' before, they had been in Oliver's world, and he had been helping her get ready for a karate championship; fighting Lora had been used to, where no one got killed. Oliver had not been trying to cheer her up before a potentially life-threatening situation.

Matthew couldn't help but chuckle a little at her accurate imitation of her brother's voice. She was really funny sometimes. All the rest of the time she just annoyed him. Then he finally remembered that he had been really irritated with her during the battle, and then he remembered why.

Matthew turned to her with anger in his eyes, reaching for her cloak, grabbing onto it, and pulling Lora away from the group just as Lora heard Oliver say, "And that's all I have to say for now, so get a good night's sleep and tomorrow we march onward to Caelin!" He was met with applause, and Lyn standing there next to him, looking anxious, yet proud and happy at the same time. The rest of the small, rugged band of mismatched mercenaries cheered a little, and then moved off in small groups to go back to the tents, most likely to get in some sleep, as it was getting quite late.

Lora herself, meanwhile, was still being dragged off by Matthew, though she had managed to turn herself around and walk, instead of being pulled. "Matthew!" she hissed. What was the sneaky thief up to now?

Finally, they were far enough away from the group to suit Matthew, and he turned around.

"LORA!!! You sneaky, lying, cheating, low, cheap"

"Hey now, Mattie, what's with the name calling? What did I do to earn such ungentlemanly treatment?"

"You know what you did!" He cried.

"No, I most definitely do not!" Lora retorted. Another lie, as she had a pretty good idea what this was about…

"Do the words 'oath' and 'paper' ring a bell somewhere in that lying head of yours?" he snapped. He personally couldn't believe he had fallen for her trick. A false document? He should have seen that coming. It was obviously not in Lora's nature to give up an advantage. He should have known she'd try this. Too bad he hadn't.

"Well, now that you mention it, yes! Those words do sound familiar. I can't remember whatever for, though. It must not be important if I can't remember it…" she teased.

Matthew's face grew red in anger. "Why you little twit! You do too remember! You lied to me!"

"Lying would imply that I told you the exact words; 'I am giving you the oath-paper now.'" Lora pointed out. "I said nothing about whether or not it was the true paper or not."

"You... you, um, MISLED me! That's right! You misled me into thinking it was the paper!"

"And in what laws does it say I can't do that?" Lora inquired innocently.

Matthew fumed for a moment. Then, he sighed, and smiled slightly.

"You know what? I'm just not going to care anymore. So you've got a paper saying I owe you three favors. So what?"

"Actually, it's four."

"What's four?"

"The amount of favors you owe me."

"What?!? I do NOT"

"I added a favor on because you put us in a very awkward situation in the woods after I was bathing that one time." Lora said, smirking.

Matthew grew red in the face again.

"YOU LITTLE CHEAP SKATE NO-GOOD LIAR! I"

"So you owing me four favors isn't going to bother you anymore? Good for you, Mattie, setting goals for yourself. I can see that plan's working out great for you."

Matthew finally just sighed. "Whatever." He said despairingly.

"Ahh, I'm just kidding you, Mattie. You only owe me three."

"Thank Elimine."

"But now you have to be nicer to me, or else."

". . ." said Matthew. He decided it was just best to let Lora have her way, and see what happens next…

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& **_In Oliver's World_** &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Oliver flipped his Game Boy shut and sat up on his bed. "Well, that was interesting." He said. He was thinking over his strategies when he heard someone knocking on his door.

"Ollie? Your mother and I need to speak to you. Come downstairs as soon as you're ready." His father called to him through the door. Oliver then heard his footsteps go down the hallway, and then down the stairs.

_'That doesn't sound good.' _Oliver thought nervously. He was a little unnerved whenever his dad spoke that way, carefully and lightly. Like he was attempting to not make it obvious his parents were about to tell him something they knew he wouldn't like to hear.

The fact that his mom was going to be participating, though, surprised Oliver. She had been little more than a ghost, flitting about their home, quiet and pale, ever since they had lost Loryn. She held herself guilty, saying that if she had only been more loving towards Loryn, more motherly, perhaps, Loryn wouldn't have gone away. Oliver would never tell her, but he kind of blamed his mom as well. She had, sort of, driven off Loryn with her uncertainty, her un-open-ness, and her inability to show Loryn she was loved. Oliver couldn't help that he felt this way. It was his way of feeling less guilty, since he knew he must have been the main force in driving Loryn into getting herself magicked into a game. He shook his head sadly, then opened the door and stepped into the hallway.

A few minutes later, Oliver walked into his family's living room. His parents were sitting side by side on their small, worn-out brown couch, holding hands and looking very anxious.

"Yes?" Oliver asked as he stood in front of them.

"Please, Oliver, sit." His father said calmly.

His mother played with a string fraying from the bottom of her sleeve, and said nothing.

"Oliver" his father began.

"Dad, Mom, I'd love to sit here and chat all night, but I have homework to do, so I should really"

"Oliver, we're still worried about you." His father said abruptly, refusing to make eye contact. "You still don't act like your old self, who you were before Loryn… disappeared."

"I thought we went through all this already! I'm tired of talking about it!" Oliver shouted, furious. "I'm sick of having people ask me what I think happened, how I _'feel'_ about it! It's pointless! 'How do you _feel_ about that, Oliver?' 'How does this make you _feel_, Oliver?' 'What about Loryn? How does remembering her make you _feel_?'" Oliver sneered, mimicking all the shrinks and psychologists and counselors his parents and the school had sent him to. He could not recall any other time he'd been this angry, this irritated, in his life.

"Ollie, dear, we just think you're still troubled over her. It's been quite some time now, you need to move on. She wouldn't want you to hang back like this on her account." His father said, still softly, as though he were afraid that he would further enrage Oliver if he raised his voice past a certain volume.

"How would you know? You never really bothered getting close to her, getting to know the real Loryn at all." Oliver said coldly. A small, hateful part of him felt triumphant when he saw his father flinch, his mother's hand fly up to her mouth, eyes welling up with pain.

"Ollie," his father tried again, "We just want you to be as happy as you used to be. You used to be so popular, always going places with friends, and nowadays you're always lurking in your room, playing that stupid game-kid thing. We want"

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe that's what makes me happy?" Oliver hissed angrily. What game were they playing at? What were they going to say to him, do to him?

"Yes, but"

"No buts, Father. Where are you going with this? Get to the point." Oliver snarled.

"Oliver, your mother and I are sending you to a counseling camp over this coming February break from school. We agreed it would be good for you to get out there and away from your room and that damn game."

Oliver was speechless; he was so lost in his anger. Send him away? To some kind of freaky counseling camp with more shrinks??? No Fire Emblem? No LORYN?!?

He knew his parents wouldn't realize he couldn't part from the game because Loryn was in there and playing the game was the only way he could see her. But how could he make them see things his way? He hated going to camps, he had never once in his life gone to one. He loathed them with a passion. Especially since few of them allowed game boys. He hated everything about camps, and his parents knew this. But they were sending him to one anyway?

"No. I won't go. I hate camps, you know that. I refuse." Oliver said coldly.

"Oliver Matthew Carowe, you are going, and that's final!" his father shouted. His face then softened. "Ollie, we really think it would be good for you to get away from here, away from home, away from her room. Please, at least consider our offer."

"Please, Oliver…" his mother echoed quietly. Oliver looked at her, and wished he hadn't. She looked so pitiful, so depressed, so pathetic. Oliver knew his resolve was going down the drain as he gazed into his mother's bloodshot, tearful eyes. "Please, Ollie. Go to camp." She repeated, ever so softly.

"I-I-, oh! I'll just, just-_think_ about it, okay? Happy now? Are you happy you've guilt-tripped me into something I really don't want to do? Does this please you, Father? Are you happy, Mother? I'll think about it, but that's it! Now, if you'll excuse me!" Oliver seethed furiously, jumping onto his feet and running up the stairs to hide in his room. He _had _to tell Loryn what was happening. He had to tell her goodbye for now, that he'd be back soon. He couldn't just leave her hanging. Oliver, now feeling quite depressed and anxious, thought to himself, _'What will happen to us now?' _

&&&&&&&&&&&&&& **_Fire Emblem World _**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Lora! Lora!! Come here!" Olive shouted frantically, running through his army as they drove off the last of this level's bandits that were between them and the next level, Castle Caelin.

"Oliver?? Oliver! What do you need me to do?" Lora cried to him, after hearing someone call her name and recognizing her brother's voice.

"Lora! Pull back! Matthew, fill her place!" Oliver ordered. Lora ran back to him, worried at the desperate tone of his voice, as Matthew nodded and moved into her now vacant spot near the front lines.

"Lora, I need to tell you something. Something horrible has happened!" Oliver gasped as he ran up to her, panting and looking panicked.

Lora decided that whatever it was he was so eager to tell her would have to wait, since Oliver could barely breathe. She was worried because he looked like he was about to have a panic attack, or hyperventilate, or something.

"Oliver, slow down. What's wrong?" she queried when he had at last caught his breath.

"Mom and Dad are sending me off to an sleep-away camp during February break!" he said quickly.

Lora gasped. "Winter break is coming already? How long have I been gone?" she asked. Oliver opened his mouth to answer, but Lora shook her head.

"Never mind, I don't want to know. Anyways, how much time do you have left?" she said.

"A week." Oliver replied sadly. Then, his head lifted, and he got his 'I-got-an-idea!' look on his face.

"Wait, Lora, what if I were not home to be sent to camp?" Oliver asked mischievously. Lora, as bright as she was, immediately envisioned what he was thinking.

"No, Oliver. You can't run away. Where would you go? And besides, how would everyone, our parents included, handle _both _twins being missing?" Lora said quickly. _'Best not to get his hopes up...' _She thought.

"Lora… I can't bear to be separated from you again. You're the only person I trust on Earth, or Elibe, or wherever the hell we are at the moment. You're my best friend. I don't have to pretend to be someone I'm not, someone popular and friendly and perfect, not around you. You're my other half. My sister..." Oliver said. These thoughts he was having were just like those he had thought when he had originally lost her to the game, and hadn't found her yet. Why was he always losing her?

"Oliver… I don't want to not be able to see you either. I already don't get to see you as much as I'd like to. We're always so busy during the only times you're 'in' the game. I… miss you, Oliver." Lora said quietly, Should she follow her heart and tell him to run away so they could still be together, brother and sister, (well, as much 'together' as they could get, under the circumstances), or should she tell him to forget her, treat her like any other game character, and move on with his life?

"Oliver…" Lora said softly. She was so torn inside. How could she decide between her happiness (him running away) and his life (him getting over her)???

"Lora… I don't want to lose you again. You're my sister, my twin, my best friend. I don't want to be an only child." Oliver said, half joking, half dead serious.

How would the twins get through this? What would they decide to do? What could be done? Lora and Oliver, standing still, lost in depressed thoughts as battle raged before them, were finally awakened to reality by calls for the tactician.

"Oliver! We need your advice!" several voices cried. Oliver sighed, then went into tactician mode. "I'm coming! Just hold the front lines together, reinforcements will be coming!" he cried.

Lora sighed, disheartened, and then went to join Matthew as the small band of mercenaries fought off the bandits. _'Where do we go from here? What happens now?' _

**_The End _**

((((((( _for now… _)))))))

_Author's Notes: _Hey everyone! I would just like to extend my heartfelt apologies for having Rebecca and Marcus in the original versions of chapters 5 & 6. I was a little confused as to who entered the story where, but with the help of my wonderful brother Teo I fixed it. No worries! I can only help to not mix up characters in wrong parts again. So, to all of you who were confused in those messed up chapters, I apologize. I'm also sorry that this chapter took longer than any others for me to post. My excuse is that my family and I went on a small vacation, and I had no Internet access. Poor me sniffles melodramatically

At any rate, I would just like to rethank (um, is that a word?) all of my reviewers. You guys are the best! I would never have gotten this far without you! Thanks so much to all of you, I'm forever in your debt. Please review!!!


	8. And So It Ends, Or Does It?

_** When Wishes Come True **_

_Jina: _Hey y'all, what up, dawgs? Here's my homie from da 'hood, H-to tha-ector, Marquess of Ostia! What's going on, homeslice?

_Hector: _I have no idea what you just said, but it sounded really retarded. So never say it again.

_Jina: _Hey, cool it dude. Take a chill pill, man.

_Hector: _ beats Jina up for disgusting and pathetic usage of modern slang

_Jina: _aggggghhhhhh…….ugggghhhhhhh…….oooohhhhh…..owwwww…….

_Hector: _Oh, come on! Don't be such an Eliwood_! Cough cough pansy cough cough_… I didn't hit you that hard!

_Jina: _It's not my body that's in pain, Hector.

_Hector: _Well, what is it then?

_Jina: _It's my pride… I was just beat up by an over-bearing obnoxious thick headed axe using lordling! With BLUE HAIR! Oh, the pain! My poor self esteem will never recover.

_Hector: _HEY!!! I AM NOT OVER-BEARING OR OBNOXIOUS OR THICK HEADED!!!

_Matthew: _ begins to laugh hysterically at this, then chokes and begins coughing, until Jina hits him on the back several times AHAHAHAHAHAHA…

_Hector: _ glares coldly at Matthew, who was still laughing/ coughing hysterically

I wasn't joking…

_Matthew: _Ahahaha…….ahaha….hehehe…..oh. Uh-oh. Ooops. runs away screaming in terror from a large, blue haired, over-bearing, slightly obnoxious, thick headed-axe wielding lordling with blue hair who was chasing after him, trying to chop off his head. Or some other body part; a leg, perhaps. Or both.

_Jina: …_sigh… I guess I'll just do my own disclaimer. Maybe I should fire all my muses and just do it myself all the time. My disclaimers always turn into huge dramatic scenes; usually ending with people being chased by angry and insulted people. Oh, well. Anyways, I don't own Disney, or Snow White and Cinderella, and especially not Fire Emblem 7, no matter how much I wish I did. Ah, the rich movie-writing,video-game designing people must laugh at me so…

(((moneymoneymoneymoneymoneymoneymoney… Hey! Why are you peoples in my private, rolling around/swimming in piles of money fantasies??? Get out of my head!!! AHHHH!!! ))) Anyways, here goes the fic! Enjoy!

P.S. Oh, and by the way, I'm sorry it took me a little longer to get this chapter up. I was away at Happening Camp all weekend. What fun! Free cookies to anyone who knows what Happening is! If you don't, don't ask me. Plus, I was super-busy with homework (ahhhhhhh!!!…..) all week. Anyways… on with the fic! (At last)

_ Chapter 8: And So It Ends…Or Does It??? _

_Previously on When Wishes Come True… _

_Jina and Matthew argue a little more, and Lyn's Legion ventures closer and closer to Castle Caelin, and Oliver's parents are trying to send Oliver away to…dun dun duuuun…SLEEP-AWAY CAMP!!! Is Oliver destined to be twin-less forever? Will Lora lose her last and only link to the REAL WORLD??? And will Lyn and Oliver and the rest successfully save Lord Hausen? Tune in next time for……… oh wait, I haven't even done the fic yet. Sorry! Here we go with the real story………_

"There it is." Lyn said slowly, softly. Lora, standing next to her, nodded her head. They were standing side by side, watching as the rising morning sun lit the edges of the nearby Castle Caelin, edging the silhouette in golden light.

"It sure is a nice place." Lora said quietly.

"I'm looking forward to exploring it. Looking in all the wonderful rooms, wandering the halls, searching the dungeons for treasure… I'm sure it will be an interesting place. I've never lived in a castle before." Lyn added, though her eyes were filled with worry and concern that thinking about exploring castles surely could not cause.

Lora just nodded her head in agreement again. She knew that Lyn did not really want to discuss the castle. Yes, it would be interesting; and Lora was sure that confidant, beautiful, strong-willed Lyn would take to castle life well, even if she hated the constrictive-ness of it, and would long for her wide open plains of Sacae. But Lora knew Lyn was wishing to say something else, and she knew better than to rush her into saying anything before she was ready.

"But, Lora... Did your... no… Will I… no…umm…" Lyn said, struggling to piece together the complicated thoughts and emotions she was feeling.

"You're worried about your grandfather." Lora stated quietly. Lyn stopped stuttering, and looked at her gratefully.

"Yes; yes, I am… Do you think he'll be okay?" Lyn asked.

"I'm sure we'll reach the castle in time to save your grandfather." Lora said, but really thinking that this was not what Lyn was talking about.

"No. Well, yes, definitely that too, but… I just… Do you think he'll be okay with me? I mean, as a half-breed, a wild plains-woman from Sacae? As an heir even if I'm not a man, or even like him at all, really?" Lyn asked.

"Lyndis, I'm sure you're grandfather will love you. He will see not the Sacaen woman he does not even know if she's really his heir, but he will see the strong, courageous, and smart person you are. I know he will love you, and accept you for who you are." Lora said.

Lyn smiled slightly, and then burst into tears, and threw her arms around the much shorter girl, crying quietly. "I'm so w-worried! What if he's not okay? What if he is okay, but h-hates me on sight? Or what if he gets to know me, and hates me then? Or what if he's-he's-he's…"

"Dead? I don't believe so. I think Lord Lundgren may be using him as a bait to bring you in, and see if you really are the heir, and so he will not kill your grandfather yet." Lora said calmly, patting the other girl awkwardly on the back.

"Oh, Lora. You really think so?" Lyn asked.

"Yes, now stop your crying. You look like Florina, bless her heart." Lora teased. "Though she's getting better now, at not crying all the time I mean. All this experience she's getting in battle and around men is making her stronger, I think."

Lyn smiled and wiped her eyes. "Indeed she is. I'm very happy for her. She's becoming much stronger, that is true."

"You are too, Lady Lyn. We all are."

"You think so? Do you think we're all strong enough to beat Lord Lundgren, and to save my grandfather?" Lyn asked, concern once more filling her eyes.

"Of course, Lady Lyndis. Now, if you'll excuse me, I hear Kent coming, and I think we are going to be leaving for the castle soon. We'd better get ready." Lora said, bowing slightly to Lyndis and then turning around. She nearly walked into Kent, who indeed was coming up the path towards them.

"Oh, hello Sir Kent!' Lora greeted the serious but friendly knight warmly.

"Hello, Lady Lora." Kent said. "Pardon me, but I must speak with Lady Lyndis. We are planning on advancing to Castle Caelin right after we finish packing up. Make sure you have a few vulneraries with you and that you're weapons are in good condition." Kent went on, face and voice still serious, but still friendly to Lora.

"I'm ready, Sir Kent. Please, just talk to Lyndis for a moment. I don't think she's ready to do this. She's really worried, and you need to comfort her." Lora replied, and then swept away towards her tent to get her weapons.

"But I, I'm no good at comforting!" Kent protested.

"Just tell her that it'll be okay, that we'll get to her grandfather on time." Lora called over her shoulder.

"All right, then." Kent said to himself. He then proceeded to walk up to Lyn and talk to her, and then they went down to the encampment to get ready for battle. At last, they were going to confront the enemy, and save Caelin.

&&&&&&&&&&&&& _In the Real World _&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Oliver was angrily stuffing clothes, books, batteries, his Game Boy and it's charger, a toothbrush; anything he could think of that he would need once he left home was going into the suitcase lying half-full in front of him on his bed. He was leaving.

He was sick of it all: the heartless teachers, the nervous and somewhat distant friends and classmates who found it hard to meet his eyes all the time (especially since word had gotten out that he was seeing a shrink), the slimy and dull psychologists who had nothing to say but, "And how do you _feel _about that?" all the time. He was sick of seeing the pity in everyone's eyes. They knew, though they could never understand, just how important Loryn had been to him as his only sister. They knew that they were really close, closer than any of them were with their siblings. He and Loryn had gotten along perfectly.

Until that last day, they had almost never argued, and the few times they did, they made up right afterwards. She had been his best friend; even though they were different, and though they didn't always do stuff together, they understood each other, and what each other wanted. Their classmates had gotten the gist of this, but they could never understand. He was sick of seeing them look at him with that disgusting emotion, that _pity _in their eyes. He hated the shrinks; he even sort of hated his parents. It was their fault too. Where had they been when Loryn fell off her bike and scraped her knee and was crying then? Where had they been when Loryn, despite her nice singing voice, hadn't gotten the role in their fifth grade musical she had so desperately wanted? Where had they been when Loryn was crying after her first boyfriend had been cheating on her and she dumped him? He remembered, he remembered each time exactly, they were all the same. They had called to him, telling him to go comfort his sister, while they sat downstairs, debating the best course of action. They didn't understand how Loryn worked; how proud she was, how strong she was inside. They only saw the reclusive and shy daughter who did not do much for them to be proud of her for. They only saw her mask, the person she appeared to be on the surface, to hide who she really was. They had never bothered to look past the mask and see the daughter, waiting all her life, for them to tell her they really and truly loved her, and were proud of her, and always would be.

Loryn had always warned him about shrinks, and other people who gave you advice even if you didn't want it; they were the ones that needed the help, and you ended up helping them get through their issues instead. No one really wants to hear about your problems, they want to rant about theirs. They only wanted a pair of ears, not someone else's dilemmas. About these types of people, in fact about most people in general, Loryn had been right. She usually was. He was the ambitious, leap-without-looking, jump right in and screw the consequences, twin; she was the look before you leap, cautious, jump in only when you're ready and can handle it, twin. She was the deep thinker, the wise one. She was good at judging people. She didn't see them as the person they presented to the world; she saw the person hiding inside, afraid to come out. In this way, she had made most people she met uncomfortable, including their parents.

Oliver shook his head to clear them of these gloomy thoughts that would get him nowhere, and focused on packing his things. He flopped to the floor next to his bed and reached far underneath, hand scrabbling at the wooden floor, searching for something. _'Aha!' _he thought triumphantly. He had it. Pulling the box out into the light, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small key. Inserting the key into the lock on the front of the wooden box, he turned it. With a click it opened, and he eased up the lid to reveal the hoard of money stashed inside. This was his Treasure Box, where he had put all his spare change into. He had starting collecting the change about six years ago, and now he had quite a substantial amount of it. He had been saving it all for emergencies, and if being sent away to his own personal version of hell wasn't an emergency, what was?

Sitting on the bed, he poured the entire contents of the bag into a pillow case, which he then tied securely shut. He was sad to see the Box lying there, so empty. But he had to take the money, and he had to leave the bulky object behind so it wouldn't hinder his journey. Stuffing the heavy, lumpy pillowcase under all his other things, he pulled the zipper shut on the backpack. _'I'm pretty sure that's everything,' _Oliver thought to himself, _'I'll only be gone long enough for them to get a taste of life without me, realize their folly, and never try to send me to camp alone again.' _

Anyone who knew that he hated camps would wonder why, but he'd never tell. Only Loryn knew, and she'd never tell either. The one time he'd ever been to a camp was with her, and if _that_ time had been permanently emotionally scarring, he didn't even want to _think _about going to a camp without her to there to support him.

"Well, I'm off." He said aloud to his empty-looking room. He had taken most of the pictures and drawings Loryn had ever given him, so his walls were bare. His other shelves and desks and other things that held his belongings were looking emptier than usual too. Oliver was somewhat relieved that it turned out this way. So much of his stuff missing would make it obvious that he had run away, not 'mysteriously disappeared' like Loryn had, so his parents would be a little less worried. He hoped.

"Dear Mom and Dad," he read aloud as he wrote the goodbye note to his parents, "Please don't worry about me. I'm fine. I'll be coming home soon; exactly how soon depends on whenever you guys realize that I will _not _go to camp, and accept it. I love you. See you later. Sincerely, Oliver."

He decided it sounded good enough, and set it on his pillow. "Goodbye," He said one last time, and then he crawled out of his window, down the flower trellis connected to the wall of his house, jumped to the ground. Looking up at his parents' window, he silently said goodbye to them one last time. Then he turned around and walked down the street, looking back only once more before turning the corner, and disappearing from sight.

&&&&&&&&&&&&_In Fire Emblem World _&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

The sun was hanging about a quarter past sunrise in the sky, and its glorious light seemed to be centered on a small group of mercenaries. It gleamed as it reflected off the armor of the cavaliers, and it glistened along the lengths of the swords. The horses were whinnying and neighing happily, prancing around like they weren't tired from so many battles. The Pegasus and Florina were soaring around in the sky, Florina looking more at peace up there than she ever really did on the ground. Serra was chattering away with Wil, the only other member of Lyndis' Legion who liked to talk as much as she did, and could stand being around her for more than two minutes. Erk was standing alone, reading from some tome. The others were all just getting ready, warming up, stretching out, and practicing. This battle, more than almost all the others, was the most important. A lot more was at stake, and they could not, _would _not lose.

Lora was sitting on a half-rotted tree stump, sharpening her daggers one last time. Matthew was standing nearby, humming softly, and looking deep in thought for once.

"Lora. Matthew. Over here! We're getting in formation!" Florina called down to them, swooping overhead, and then flying towards where the others were indeed grouping into the formation Oliver was telling them to.

"Serra, go in back. Cavaliers, go on either side of the formation. Sword users up front and magic users go behind them…" Lora could hear Oliver's strong, clear voice calling out instructions to the units from where she was, still quite a bit away. Matthew ran up beside her.

"Are you ready, Lora?" he asked, for once in a semi-serious tone of voice.

"I've been ready since the day I was born." She retorted. He smiled.

"Just checking. You seemed a bit, lost in thought, this morning."

"Oh, I'm just thinking about stuff. Nothing big. Oh wait, do you have a vulnerary to spare? I seem to have used up my last one." Lora asked, searching through her bag for her vulnerary, and not finding one.

"Umm, let me see… No, sorry, I don't. I'm sure you'll be fine." Matthew answered. "I mean, who could ever actually hurt Lora the Great?" he teased.

"You'd be surprised." Lora answered wryly, thinking not of physical pain but of other kinds. Her parents…. Did they miss her?

"Just don't get in the way of stronger enemies." Matthew said.

"As if I didn't know that…" Lora answered.

"Alright troops... MOVE OUT!" Oliver called from where he was, right next to Lyndis.

And the small 'army', if you could call it that, marched onward toward Castle Caelin, toward Lord Hausen, and Lord Lundgren…

'I'm sure you'll be fine.' The words echoed in Lora's head. She hoped so. She hated jumping into action when she didn't feel she was ready. But she knew Matthew and Oliver would look out for her.

Neither she nor Matthew would know, until later, just how much they had just jinxed her… Things often have a way of turning out opposite what we think will happen, after all…

_In the Midst of Battle…_

"Kent! Hurry! Go rescue Serra from that archer!" Oliver cried out. Kent immediately galloped over to where the cleric was being attacked and swept her off the ground and into his saddle. "Erk, finish him off!" Oliver cried again, and Erk ran towards the archer, pulling out his Fire tome as he went. He then muttered the incantation, did the hand movements, and sent a ball of fire towards the archer, killing it in one hit.

"Matthew, steal that javelin from that cavalier. Sain, ride up behind him and strike it down with your javelin after that." The two men obeyed the orders.

Lora, meanwhile, was finishing off another archer, a bit separated from the rest of the fighting. She did not notice at first, and neither did Oliver, (who was trying to figure out how to rescue Erk, who was stuck in a cluster of enemy sword users and cavaliers), two more enemy cavaliers galloping up towards Wil, who was completely defenseless once the cavaliers got too close. Lora then saw the danger the archer was in, and ran as fast as she could to his side, unsheathing her blades as she ran.

The archer managed to avoid one lance thrust, but didn't get so lucky a second time, as it sliced down his side, opening a long shallow cut. It was at this point that Lora arrived, and when Oliver gave the signal for their side to counter attack, she charged the lance user, hoping to keep him away from the archer, who was attempting to heal himself before trying to attack.

Lora leapt forward and sliced at the cavalier, and too late remembered that she wouldn't do much damage as swords are weak against lances. _'Blast!'_ she thought angrily. _'At that's why Oliver's the tactician, not me.'_ She dodged the counter attack, and quick glanced around. She could have sworn there were two enemies coming…

Feeling that prickling sensation at the back of her neck that either meant someone was staring at her (you know that sensation, readers, right? When someone's right behind you, or staring at you? Anyways… I digress…), or that something bad was about to happen. In this case, it was probably both. Lora whirled around to see the other cavalier right behind her. Wil shot at him, but the arrow did little damage. Sweating, Lora dodged the first cavalier's attack on her right side, and attacked, managing to severely lower the cavalier's health. But the other one, now on her left side, was waiting, and as she turned to face him and dodge his attack, he thrust his lance forward, slicing down her left side and biting into her left thigh. She gasped in pain, but counter-attacked anyway.

"Kent! Matthew! Go save Lora and Wil! Hurry!" Oliver cried, panicking. Lora was in trouble. The fear that clouded his head whenever she was in danger was closing in on him. Why weren't they there yet?!? What was taking them so long?!? Lora was in trouble, big trouble!!!

Meanwhile, Wil fired another shot at the enemy, but again did little damage to the powerful horse-rider. Knowing that the cavaliers would attack him, an extremely vulnerable unit, right away, she knew that she had to stop them. One hit from them and Wil was a goner, and Lora refused to accept that. She would do anything to save anyone in this army, at the cost of herself if need be. Running towards the least-injured cavalier, she attacked, whirling her daggers in the air, grabbing them, leaping forward, and stabbing ferociously at the enemy in a critical attack, almost killing him. He then thrust his lance at her, and she was too tired, too weak from blood loss, she could only watch in slight fascination as the lance came at her. Everything slowed down, and as she watched the lance coming at her, she pondered what death might be like. Would it hurt? She did not know. She only hoped she would hurt less than she did now.

Oliver screamed in frustration and pain and anger as he too watched helplessly as the enemy's lance thrust toward Lora's chest…and then bit deep into it.

"LORYN!!!" he cried. He felt like it was he, not her, who was hit. Would she survive? What was her health stat? He checked. One. She was at one health point. Oliver only gasped in relief as he realized not all hope was gone. She could possibly be okay.

Lora felt nothing; she saw the lance stab into her chest, but she was so numb she didn't feel a thing. Was she dying? She didn't know.

No. She was alive; barely. She knew she was close, so close to death, but it had not taken her yet. She tried not to hope that a miracle would happen and she would be saved.

"Lora!!!" Matthew and Sain both cried. He put on an extra burst of speed, almost catching up to Sain. Sain was shouting at his horse to go faster, until Matthew could have sworn that the horse's feet barely touched the ground.

Finally, Sain reached Lora, just as she leapt forward and sliced at the enemy one last time, barely wounding him. But Sain was suddenly there, and so was Matthew, and after Sain attacked the enemy cavalier once with his lance, Matthew attacked as well, delivering the killing blow at last.

"Th-thanks…guys…" Lora said softly. Elimine, she hurt…

"Hold on, Lora. You're safe now. Do you have a vulnerary?" Sain asked. As she shook her head, he picked her up and put her on the back of his horse, and Sain, Lora, Matthew, and Wil (who was still trying to recover as well, with Matthew hovering nearby, helping him walk) headed swiftly back to the group.

Lora grinned weakly looking down at the thief from her perch on Sain's horse's back. "Matthew…It looks like you were wrong… after all." She teased faintly. Matthew, just happy to hear her tease him again, just grinned in return.

"There's a first time for everything, I suppose." He answered. Sain laughed as well at this. Wil chuckled, cheerful as always.

Lora was so tired… she struggled to keep her eyes open. But despite her valiant efforts, her eyelids drifted shut, and she fell into a deep slumber.

_A While Later… _

"Thanks, Serra. You really helped me out back there." Lora said to the pink haired cleric. The girl only sniffed daintily. "Of course I did! How could I not have been helpful? I am always useful on the battlefield. Not only do I heal, but my charm and good looks…" the cleric started babbling about her 'amazing' self again, and Lora tuned her out. It was several hours past from the attack on Wil, and Lora's near miss with death. Now, Lyndis' Legion was inside the keep, fighting off the last of Lundgren and his forces, and then they were going to search for (a hopefully alive) Lord Hausen. But the battle was otherwise pretty much over, and Lora was just assigned to stealing items from chests located in the halls and secret rooms, along with Matthew.

The two thieves were just finished getting the last of the treasure when they heard triumphant cheers. The battle was over, Lundgren was dead at last.

"Well, I guess that's it." Matthew said quietly as they hurried to rejoin the group. "We're all going to disband now. We won, so now we have no reason to stay together, do we?"

"I guess not." Lora said. "But somehow, I get the feeling we will all meet again, and sooner than we may think."

"But isn't this the end? Aren't we done?" Matthew asked.

"For now…" Lora said mysteriously, and then ran ahead.

"Hey, what do you know that I don't?!?" Matthew asked indignantly, and then he too ran, and he managed to catch up to her.

"Oh, nothing. I'm just wishing that we all may see each other again one day." Lora lied. "Anyways, we better catch up with the group soon."

"Okay… Race you there!" Matthew cried, and ran ahead of her.

Lora slowed down a little, her muscles still sore from being so severely injured. "And so it ends…" she said aloud, to no one, "Or is it just the beginning?"

_The End… _

( ( ( ( ( ( ( for now… ) ) ) ) ) ) )

_Author's Notes: _Hey everybody! I'd like to say two things; one, thank you to anyone and everyone who has bothered to keep reading my pitiful story, (extra special thanks and free cookies to all who reviewed!), and two, THIS FIC IS NOT FINISHED! IT IS NOT COMLPETE! NOT DONE! The story shall go on, I assure you. If it didn't, I wouldn't be able to include so many of my favorite characters in this fic, and I really want to. So keep on reading this if you want, and it will continue! Thanks again to all you amazing, wonderful, ultra-cool peoples who have continued to read this story; and multiply those peoples' coolness by like a bajillion and you get the answer of how cool all (nice) reviewers are! Hint hint wink wink nudge nudge. Please Review!!!


	9. Here We Go, Again!

_** When Wishes Come True **_

_Jina: _Hi everybody! Much thankses to everyone who reviewed! You guys rock! Also, thanks to all you people who read my story but are too busy to review, for continuing to read it. Yes, Lyn's Campaign is officially over! Yay! You know, sometimes it seems to me like Lyn has no personality; she's just like any other heroine you meet in a book/video game/computer game/ whatever. Now, Florina, or Sain, or Matthew, _they _have personalities… Oh! Right! The disclaimer. Since I fired all my muses, (they were turning these disclaimers into whole huge scenes and everything, and making it too long), I will now do it myself! sigh

_Matthew:_ We're baaa-aaack!!!

_Hector: _Muahahaha…!

_Oliver: _Thought you were rid of us, didn't you? Guess again!

_Jina: _Aaah! What are you losers-oops I mean guys- doing back here? I fired you!

_Hector: _We're not losers!!!

_Matthew: _We were getting really really really really really really really really really…

_Oliver: _Get to the point, Mattie.

_Matthew: _Hey only Lora can call me that! Anyways, we were getting _really _bored waiting for the fic to begin, so we decided to come back here and annoy you- oops I didn't say that, I said, we decided to come _assist_ you in doing the disclaimer! sweatdrops, _whew that was a close one _

_Jina: _Fine! One of you, hurry up and do it then! The other two, go away!

_Hector: _Well, if we're _fighting_ for the right to do the disclaimer, considering that I'm a big brawny axe fighter, against a wimpy tactician and a weak thief, I think I'll do it.

_Oliver: _looks nervousFine, do it! See if we care! Come' on, Matthew. We outta here!

_Matthew: _Hasta la vista, losers! runs away

_Hector: _Well, I'm here to tell you that Jina Fate does not own Fire Emblem, so hahaha you stupid lawyers you can't sue her until she's a penniless hobo!

_Lawyers: _Dude, we can so sue her for making you insult us.

_Jina: _Hector!

_Hector: _Oops, hehehe… on with the story!

_ Chapter Nine: Here We Go, Again! _

Oliver hummed softly to himself as he walked away from the street corner where he had just gotten off a smelly old bus. He walked at a hurried pace, eager to find somewhere he could rest for the night. Should he go to a hotel? No, too expensive. Should he try to sneak into someone's garage, or tool shed, or something? No, he wasn't sneaky enough. Loryn might have been able to do it, but he couldn't. Should he try to find some kindly old lady to let him sleep in her house? No, he'd just be rejected. Seriously, what person would let a complete stranger into their home to sleep on the couch? He could be some rapist, or homicidal maniac, or a thief, or some kind of wanted criminal. He decided to search for some source of shelter that was free and that didn't require sneaking or begging. Walking around for a few more minutes, he searched for something, anything that could be used to keep away the cold and the rain. He finally entered the poorer, low-class section of the city, and snuck down an alley between two apartment buildings. There, he found two garbage cans, a recycle bin, and a cardboard box. Using these items, he fashioned himself a fairly sturdy shelter, and he crawled inside. Shivering, he pulled his ratty old blanket and a few newspapers over himself, and curled up into the tightest ball he could, and began to fall asleep.

It seemed to him to have only been a few seconds, but what really must have been a few hours, before he woke up. Well, woken up, and painfully too. He returned to consciousness by beating viciously kicked, repeatedly, in his side. "Ow… Ow. Ow! Would you quit it?!?" he muttered angrily. He looked up from his "cozy" position lying inside his little shelter, freezing cold and quite wet (apparently it had rained), to see a small, pathetically scrawny, dirty young girl in ratty clothes, peering down at him. She had a too-thin face, one that had the look of having seen to much of the dark side of this world on it. Her green eyes were huge, and stood out in her otherwise colorless little face. She had worn, ugly sneakers with holes in the toes for foot wear, and despite the icy chill in the morning air, she wore no coat over her threadbare shirt and dirty jeans. A street kid. One of the young children tossed out of homes by either their parents or the state, most often penniless, unsupervised, hungry, lost children with no homes, no food sources, and especially no parents to speak of. Oliver's heart ached at the sight of this young girl. There he was, a run away from a home with parents and food and a roof and good clothes, and here was this orphan child, with nothing. He had never felt more selfish, spoiled, and stupid in his life.

"Hey, you gonna answer me, or what?" the child said. Oliver shook himself out of his daze, and realized the girl had spoken to him. He smiled gently, apologetically, at the girl. "Sorry, I didn't quite catch that. What did you say?" he asked.

The girl sighed and shook her head in disgust. "You's a runner, ain't ya?" she asked.

"What?" Oliver said, confused.

"You ran away from your home," the girl stated slowly, as though he were a half-wit who wouldn't understand if she spoke too quickly.

"Yeah, so what?" he asked. HE could see that a good vocabulary wasn't going to impress her and any other kids like her. _'When in Rome…'_ he thought to himself, mentally shrugging.

"So whaddya think yer doin'? Are you _nuts?_' The girl asked.

"No," Oliver said defensively, "My parents…" he knew if he spoke of magic and video games and summer camps that this street wise girl would just think he was 'nuts', as she so quaintly put it. "My parents were going to separate me from my twin sister, so we ran away." He explained. The girl nodded slowly, thinking about his answer for a moment, then nodded again, judging his excuse as a good enough reason to run away from home and food and warmth like he had.

"I hear ya. I had a brother myself, he was called Kory, but we's gots ripped apart by them stupid foster care people. I haven't seen 'im since I were about eight, and him six. I don' even think he remembers me." She mumbled sadly, looking down. She furiously brushed her tears out of her eyes, and looked up at him.

"So, do ya got a name, kid?" she asked.

"I'm, uh," he paused, considering whether or not he should use a fake, tougher name. "I'm Tony." He said, grinning inwardly. Tony was his favorite character from a movie he liked, a real tough guy, king of the streets.

"Okay, then, Tony, I'm Mira." She replied, smiling ever so slightly. The wariness hadn't left her eyes, though. He could see that even though she looked only to be about eleven or twelve, she had been through a lot, and was too used to the cruel way life worked sometimes to trust easily.

"So, am I in your spot, or something?" he asked. "Why are you here? And more importantly, why'd ya have to wake me up?"

"I was sent here by my friend, Cian, to investigate you. We pretty much know all the kids like us around here, and since we didn't know you, we was worried you were competition, or a rival gang."

"Wait, you're in a gang?" Oliver asked, startled.

"No, not really." Mira smirked. "We just all hang together to stay safer, and take care of the littlest kids like us, who can't get food or stuff for themselves. We only fight if we have to drive off other kids, who're nasty and just wanna take our spots for getting food, and staying warm. We usually win in a fight, only 'cause we're smaller and faster, and can usually trick them."

Oliver felt happiness for the first time since his parents had tried to send him off to camp. Instead of just being a spoiled kid who ran away, he could help these kids. He was a 'tactician', after all. Plus, he was older, and if this girl was one of the oldest (which he guessed she was, since she said she was close to the kid in charge, who was most likely not older than she), those kids could definitely use an older kids authority. Meeting Mira, he had realized just what a pampered life he lived, and he decided he would help these kids out here and now, and hopefully make up for his selfish actions.

"Tell you what," he began, "What if I was to stick around with you and your gang, and I could help you win more fights against the bad kids, and maybe even not just fight in defense, but take over their spots as well."

Mira looked at him sharply. "But then we wouldn't be any better than them." She said.

"Oh, no. Not if we shared all the profits we made with them kids who deserve it." He replied. Mira finally understood, and smile brightly.

"Can you really help us? I don't think you know what you're getting into. Street fighting ain't like nothing you've ever seen before. It's sneaky, and cruel, and most peoples cheat. And besides, I hate feelin' indebted to people. I hate owing favors."

"Don't worry, Mira. I think I can handle it. Besides, if I can help you take care of yourselves, I would owe you a favor, not the other way around." Oliver replied truthfully.

Mira finally grinned truly, lighting up her big green eyes. "If you're sure…"

"I am!"

"Great! Then come with me, and we be talking to Cian 'bout you staying with us, at least for awhile." Mira said. The eleven year old girl then took his hand and began leading him through the streets, down twisted alleyways, around corners, past many buildings, and finally she let go of his hand to kneel down next to a fence that was boarded up. She then smoothed her hand along the surface, then her hand caught on an edge or something in the wood, and she grasped onto it. Pulling it up, she revealed a small door, a hole in the wood and the metal wires that made up the fence. Just big enough for a person to crawl through, if they wanted.

"Ah hah, a secret entrance." Oliver said.

"The only entrance," Mira corrected, "And we keep its whereabouts hidden on purpose, so don't go tellin' everyone where it is"

"I promise not to." Oliver said solemnly.

Mira nodded. "Good. Now crawl through, we ain't got all day."

Oliver knelt down, and on his hands and knees barely managed to fit through the hole. He heard Mira slowly crawl through behind him, and quickly stood up and moved out of the way. He looked up from the ground, only to see several pairs of suspicious and angry eyes peering at him. _'Oh, crap.' _

_&&&&&&&&&&&&& Meanwhile, in FE 7 World… &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&_

Lora was sleeping in a dirty inn inside Ostia, near the castle where the marquess of Ostia, Lord Uther, and his younger brother, Lord Hector lived; when she woke up abruptly. She couldn't figure out why for a moment, but then realized her body was screaming at her to wake up and get moving, because she was getting that eerie sensation some people (like her) get when something bad is about to happen to them or someone they know. Either Oliver was in trouble, or she was; and she figured that it was her, only because Oliver was never really in danger in his world, safe and sound either at school or at home. _'What's going on?' _she thought as she sat up slowly in the darkness, barely even breathing so as to not alert anyone to her presence. Closing her eyes so she could further strain her ears to catch the slightest sound an enemy would make, she listened, not moving at all. She could sense no one in her room, or possibly even around it, though she wasn't too sure about how well she could detect a person if they were outside in the inn's corridors.

She eased out of the bed, slipping into her boots and huddling into her cape, already dressed. It was a chilly night, and she could see her own breath coming out of her mouth, slightly warming her cold face. She shivered; then scolded herself for doing so. What kind of thief would be so foolish as to shiver and make noise that risked detection by a person she might not want to have them know she was about?

Creeping silently towards her door, she eased up the little wooden flap that let her see out in the corridor, and peered out. Waiting for her eyes to adjust to the even darker lighting of the hallway (since it lacked windows), she gazed out anxiously, searching the shadows for movement. There! There was a flutter of a cape or a cloak, and a flash of a dusty boot. Lora could then make out the silhouette of a tall, scrawny person standing next to a door, doing something with their hands. Lora didn't know for sure, but she had an idea about what he was doing. She was proved right as with a tiny click, the person turned the formerly locked door handle and opened the door. _'Now, they either forgot their key and needed to get back into their room; or (more likely) are trying to break in and help themselves to an unsuspecting_ _person's belongings.'_ Lora thought. _'Now, what should I do about it?' _ Making her decision, she eased her door open silently, making sure to lock it behind her, and slunk down the hallway noiselessly. Peering into the sparsely furnished room, Lora saw a lump that she guessed was the real owner of the room sleeping in the bed, and then she looked at the thief, who was going through the victim's saddle bags. He then straightened, and turned toward the door. Lora whisked into the shadows, blending in perfectly, and watched as the thief walked by, and picked the lock of the next room. He opened it and entered the room. He was in there for only a few moments (which Lora used to creep closer to the room, and to him) before she heard him curse under his breath. "Damn, it's empty." She heard him mutter. Lora then knew that this was her perfect chance, and silently she entered the room as well. The thief turned around to exit the empty room, when he found his way blocked by a mysterious figure, wrapped in a cloak so that only a small part of their face could be seen. "Oh, hello. You startled me. Good evening." The thief said to Lora. Obviously he was going to pretend that he was the owner of this room or something, and hope she fell for it. ". . ." Lora said nothing, letting the silence stretch to an uncomfortable length. "Ah, yes, well, um," the thief said nervously, "This is my room, and I just got in, so I don't know why you're standing here, but if you'll excuse me I need to go get my bags."

"What do you mean, sir? You already have quite a large bag on your back. You have more?" Lora asked, in a too sweet voice. The man looked even more nervous and uneasy, and slightly angry.

"Look, stranger," He said, still somehow oblivious to her gender (despite her female-sounding voice, which means he stupidly assumed she was a high-pitched male), "I have things I need to do, and soon, so move or I'll have to be ungentlemanly and move you myself." He snarled. Lora smirked, though he couldn't tell because she had her cloak wrapped around her so her face could not be seen.

"Oh? And where do you need to go that's so urgent? A meeting? Your home and family? A _stolen goods shop_, perhaps?" Lora asked, stressing the last question so he could not mistake her meaning. She had caught him, red handed.

"You're asking for it, fool!" the man growled again.

"And just what are you going to do about it?" Lora asked, deadly sweet.

"This!" the thief snarled, whipping out two iron swords. "Too bad you didn't know what you were getting yourself into, isn't it?" he jeered.

"Oh, I knew quite well what I was getting into. I was quite looking forward to it." Lora replied calmly, voice as cold as an Ilian winter night.

"Well, I'm glad you're prepared! I was achin' for a fight, anyhow!" he spit at her. "Though this one should be pathetically easy."

"I wouldn't count on it." Lora said. She then drew her own blades, and crouched into her fighting stance. "You are about to be served justice, thief. Prepare yourself." To herself, she grinned wryly, _'One thief serving another "justice", ha! What a screwy world. I'm truly no better than him. If he only knew…' _ but then she shook those thoughts away, and focused on the fight.

"Oh, right. This should be good." The thief mocked. "Like you can take on me! You're no bigger than a teenage girl! I bet you fight like one, too!"

Lora laughed. "You know, you just might be right." She said to the man, and then she attacked the sexist loser. She leapt forward, and then seemed to disappear for a few seconds, only to reappear directly behind the man, slicing through the sir with her daggers, guiding them to be buried in the man's back. He had no time to react to her sneaky attack, and no chance at surviving her hit.

"Aaarrggghhh…" he spluttered, falling to his knees, his eyes bugging out of his head in shock. "You…killed…me…"

"No kidding." Lora snarled coldly.

"Uuurgglle…" and with that charming note, he fell face-down on the floor.

"Serves you right, you vile man." Lora spat. She happened to know, through a chain of friends (who happened to be spies and other such information gatherers), that this man was wanted in Sacae, Bern, and Lycia, for murder, thievery, and other sins. She had seen pictures of his face plastered onto walls of vendors and armories, so she knew what he had looked like. He had a very recognizable scar on his face, and there was no doubt that this was the correct man. Lora felt extremely satisfied, knowing she had rid the world of a nasty person, and had also eliminated competition for this area in pick-pocketing and other things like that terms.

She then noticed that the man was still alive, and deciding to send him to his grave in shame, she quickly pulled down the hood of her cloak, so he could see her face and hair, and know her true gender.

"You-you-you… you're a _girl!_" he cried hoarsely.

"Yes, I am. Now, know this: You should never say that someone fights like a teenage girl to insult them. After all, you just got slain by one, didn't you?" she mocked him coldly. Where had this guy _been? _Obviously not to Ilia, where the women fought and worked for a living, and the men were little more than lumps that sat about doing nothing productive, according to Florina the Pegasus Knight who was born and raised there.

"Aagghh… the shame…" he muttered.

Finally feeling quite sick of this chauvinistic, sexist pig, Lora kicked him sharply, and he yelped in pain, grimacing and whimpering like a small child or a wounded forest creature, and then slowly died. His very last sight was of her cold, heartless face, gazing down at him in contempt.

"So long, and 'good evening' to you too." Lora said quietly, and then pulling her cloak around her face to conceal her identity once more, she turned and walked out of the room, not looking back even once. She left the man's corpse sit there, waiting for whatever unlucky maid would enter this room to clean in awhile.

The next morning, Lora was sitting at a table in the dining hall of the spacious inn, eating her cheap breakfast of a warm roll and some coffee. Suddenly, the door swung open wildly, and an icy blast of snow and freezing air escorted a figure into the room. The man who had just entered shook off the snow covering him urgently, and then walked to an empty table and climbed onto it, so that he could be seen and heard by all.

"Attention! Attention, please!" he called excitedly. "I bear you good news, even though I'm surprised you don't know of it already yourselves!"

"What is it?" a shrill female voice cried.

"The murdering, thieving, wretched piece of pond scum more formerly known as 'Kadavher the Killer', a man wanted in Sacae, Bern, and Lycia; was found dead today, in one of the rooms in this very inn!"

The entire crowd of inn guests gasped, then began applauding and cheering wildly.

"Wait! Wait! I have to warn you!!! Wait! Listen to me!" the man cried desperately.

The cook of the inn finally took pity on him, and bellowed,

"SHUT YER MOUTHES!!!", at the top of his lungs.

Everyone grew quiet, and expectantly looked up at the man, who was still on the table.

"I must warn you, as it seems to not have occurred to you all that whoever killed that murdering bastard, may not have left yet. You know how much skill that person must have, to have killed that experienced killer.

The guests all grew really, really quiet, as they began to look around at the strangers they had been rejoicing with and hugging a moment before, paling at the idea of a seriously skilled killer in their midst.

Lora grinned evilly into her mug, smirking at the idiocy of her fellow travelers. She could only imagine the looks on their faces if they knew that _she _was the killer of that vile being.

"Well, you look like the cat that got the canary." A teasing voice said behind her. Lora was mildly startled, but she immediately knew who it was. She could tell by that teasing voice, the smile she could hear in it. Turning, she set her mug down n the table in front of her, and she faced the speaker.

"Hey. Long time, no see, huh?" Lora said softly, smiling a little.

"Yeah, I guess so." The person replied lightly.

_(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( The End )))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))_

_( ( ( ( ( ( ( for now . . . ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )_

_Author's Note: _Hey everyone! How are you? Wait, why am I asking you this? You can't respond. Why am I still talking to you??? O.o No, I'm not crazy!!! Hehehe…

Really, I'm not! I swear. sweat drops tee hee…

Anyhow… well, muchas gracias (many thanks) go out to all you awesome people who reviewed!!! You guys rock! Thanks to your wonderful advice, I am doing Hector's story next, not Eliwood's, so… yeah. Thanks for the advice. I completely got a ton of inspiration now from that. Eliwood's kind of, well, boring. So yeah, anyway. Thanks so much for reviewing! I love you all! gives them all bug group hug Well, now that I've totally and officially scared you all, I'll shut up now. If you have any questions or suggestions or (helpful) comments, please review, and let me know what you think! Thanks! 'So long; and good night!' (line from 'Helena' by MCR)


	10. Journeying Onwards

_** When Wishes Come True **_

_Jina: _ Hi everybody! Besides doing the disclaimer, I'm here to thank you awesome people who reviewed my story! You guys rock! I really appreciate the advice, and I just loooooove getting any type of feed back. Except for; "Your story sucks. You are a retard. You deserve to be shot.", or something like that. I don't like it when people are mean to me. I WILL get my revenge! MWAHAHAHA… choke…agh…cough… choking…not… breathing… ack…wheeze….gasp…. falls over, blue in the face

_Oliver: _Jina, only Evil Masterminds can successfully do the Evil Mastermind Laugh. Everyone knows that.

_Matthew: _ laughing hysterically HAHAHA…..Jina you idiot….hahaha…etc. etc. etc.

_Eliwood: _Don't worry, Lady Jina! I'll save you! lifts her to her feet and begins whacking her (hard) on the back repeatedly

_Jina: _ Aaah! Aaah! Aaah! is breathing again

_Hector: _What the heck do you think you're doing, Pansy-Boy?

_Eliwood: _Dude, I'm a chivalrous sword wielding red head! It's what I do! (((Insert extreme thanks to the awesome author Sardonic Kender Smile for that quote. Except for the 'dude' part, that's just me being sweet like that.)))

_Matthew: _Why are you screaming, Jina?

_Jina: _I was basically just beat up by a pansy! That's not right!

_Eliwood: _HEY! I am NOT a pansy!!! drops Jina, who he was still holding upright

_Jina: _Aah! falls to floor Sorry, Eliwood, you know I'm kidding. You own everybody on my FE game, _everybody_...

_Oliver: ..._hehehe….um, yeah. Anyways, Jina does not own Fire Emblem, even though she wishes she did. Poser!

_Jina: _I beg your pardon, I am not! And I so could own Fire Emblem. If I did, there would be more girls in FE 7 so that all the guys could have one and not go all yaoi. Not that I don't like yaoi, but still… It's so hard to decide who can get what support with who so that every guy has a girl and vice versa.

_Matthew:_ Can we please just go on with the actual story? That's what the readers are actually reading this for, not to read about how some crazy psycho weirdo talks to muses in her head that she kidnapped from a game boy game.

_Jina: _Fine, be that way. On with the fic! Charge!

_Matthew: _… cough cough _delusional freak _cough cough …

_Jina: _Shut up.

_ Chapter Ten: Journeying Onwards… _

"Uhhh, hi?" Oliver said weakly, raising his arms up so the owners of the several pairs of eyes glaring at him could see that he was unarmed and un-dangerous.

"Who are ya, and how the heck did'ya find your way into here?" an icy female voice drawled from somewhere among the shadows cast by a huge, broken-down, rusty old pick up truck. All he could see of the speaker were her eyes, a light honey-brown that was almost gold, and reminded him of Nergal's morphs.

"I'm Tony," he answered, using his new street name, "And I didn't 'find my way in here'. Mira brought me here. I'm gonna help you guys out with your little, ah, territorial problems."

"It's true, Cian." Mira said, finally catching up to him. "He's here to help us fight off them losers who're trying to take us over."

"Right then. Do you have any experience with fighting street-style, kid?" The girl, he guessed it was this 'Cian' Mira had mentioned before, said, gazing at him sharply with those strange gold eyes.

"Sorta kinda." He mumbled, not wanting to lie outright and then look stupid later, but not wanting to seem like some kind of wimp.

"Ha, we'll see 'bout that." Cian said, sounding unbelieving.

"I might not know how to fight on the street like you guys yet, but I'll learn, you'll see." Oliver insisted.

"Yeah, yeah, sure. Right. That's what they all say, kid."

"My name is Tony."

"Yeah, I heard ya."

"So call me Tony, not 'kid'."

"Whatever. If ya stick around long enough, I'll think about calling ya that. But, you're new here, and ya gotta learn that I'm the person in control here, an' what I say, goes. Ya hear me?" Cian stated, still hidden in the shadows.

"Yeah, I hear you, all right." Oliver mumbled.

Cian finally stepped forward, and as Oliver tried to get a good look at her, she was suddenly right up in his face, no more than half a foot away, and she was punching him in the face. Oliver cussed at the pain now causing his vision to swim in front of him, and he could feel a sticky wet substance, more commonly known as his blood, flowing from his face. "Crap." He mumbled. "What the heck what that for?"

"For sassin' me." Cian stated, sounding bored.

"I see. I don't think I'll try that again." He muttered darkly.

"See that ya don't." Cian snapped. Oliver tried to feel whether or not his poor nose was broken as he looked at the leader of this little gang. She was fairly short, actually, with long dark black-brown hair in ringlet-sort of things, falling to her waist. Her skin was a tan creamy color, but it was littered with scars, and it was obvious her nose had been broken at least once. Her eyes, like he had noted before, were light brown-golden, and held a look in them that spoke of her having seen far too much of the dark side of the world. She had a scar running across her face, starting on her left cheek, and sweeping down unto her neck, where it stopped just at her collarbone. She was far too thin for a girl her age, which he assumed was somewhere around his own. Right now, she had her arms crossed against her chest, and stood with most of her weight on her right side, tapping her left foot, annoyed, on the broken-bottle glass-littered ground.

"Oh, you're fine. Stop that and wipe off your face, and I'll introduce ya to the rest of my pack." Cian said to him, and looked around them, gesturing to the shadows at figures he could barely see, beckoning to them to come out of hiding.

"Your pack?" Oliver asked, curious.

"We don't kill, smoke, get wasted, or look around for fights and other trouble, so we ain't a gang. We're a pack, and I'm the leader; and if you can't accept that, ya better leave now, 'cause I won't put up with ya for long." Cian told him.

"I accept your authority, Oh Most Wonderful And Amazing Lady Pack Leader." Oliver said grandly, bowing to her with a large sweep of his arm.

Cian smiled slightly, and then scowled. "I won't be taking none of your sass." She snapped, but he could still see the amusement in her eyes, and he smiled at her. Then, remembering that he was supposed to be meeting the 'pack', he looked around for them. They were standing quite a few feet away from him and Cian, staring at him with huge, distrustful eyes. They were a thin, ragged lot, with their bones seeming to stick out of their rags they called clothes, dirty, scummy articles of cloth that barely kept them warm and covered.

Deciding to take the matter of getting them to relax around him into is own hands, he smiled warmly at the children, holding out his arms. "I don't bite, ya know. At least, not since I was a little bit more than you is now." He said, gesturing to a young little boy who could have been no more than four of five.

Smiling slightly at him in return, they looked to their leader, Cian, for advice on how to handle the stranger.

"Well, go on; check him out. He couldn't hurt a fly." Cian told them, nodding her head in his direction.

"Hey, that ain't nice!" Oliver called to her, trying hard to get his voice heard, since he was abruptly quite surrounded in a swarm of children. Looking about him at the tiny, starving faces around him, his heart was wrenched into pieces. There'd he been complaining about going to a camp, when these children didn't even always know whether or not they'd be eating that day.

Finally, after answering a few questions, and chatting for a few minutes with a few of the eager kids, he disentangled himself from the crowd, hobbling over to Cian with a miniscule little girl clutching onto his leg. Not only did these kids not get enough food, they were love-starved as well. Did they have mothers to hug and comfort them? Did they have fathers to give them piggy-back rides? Oliver thought not.

"Is this one the youngest of the bunch?" he asked, gesturing to the little girl on his leg.

"No." Cian sighed. "We have a few more. Follow me." And with that, she immediately began striding off to some unknown location, assuming Oliver would follow. He did, and soon he caught up to Cian. She was standing next to an old, dirty, broken-down school bus, with few windows, no seats that he could see, and no wheels.

"In here?" he asked.

"Yeah," Cian replied, then roughly shoved open the bus door. "Go in."

As Oliver stepped onto the bus, he was immediately set upon by a girl who looked to be about twelve or thirteen. She brandished a broken beer bottle as a weapon.

"Who are you?!? Get out of here, you little piece of spot-stealing trash!" She snarled, red hair flying about her furiously as she shook it out of her brown eyes, glaring at him.

"He's with me, Corlin. Relax." Cian said, coming up behind him.

"Oh. Sorry, chief." The girl, Corlin, said, and she backed away, giving Oliver and Cian passage onto the bus.

Stepping further into it, he could see that the bus did indeed have seats; they were just pulled out of their original places, and set in a large circle-shape arrangement. Resting on these make-shift crib-things, were three little infants, wrapped up in newspapers and rags and random articles of clothing.

"My God," Oliver said quietly, looking at these abandoned infants. _'What kind of person would abandon their children at so young an age?'_ he thought to himself, staring in horror at these tiny, fragile beings.

"I know." Cian said, gazing at the children. Corlin had moved over to three babies, and had picked up a little boy, who gurgled happily and grabbed at her hands with is tiny little fists. Cian walked over to another makeshift crib, and picked up a little girl, who smiled and giggled, and waved her arms around and clutching onto Cian's ratty shirt like a little monkey, making Oliver smile.

"You can pick up Charlie, if ya want." Cian told him in a hushed voice, pointing quickly to the remaining child, a tiny little boy. This one did not look as healthy as the other two, he was pale and his breathing was rattly and uneven.

"Hey there, little guy." Oliver crooned to the baby as he picked him up and held him in his arms. Charlie opened is eyes, gazing at Oliver with milky light blue eyes, then he smiled sleepily, and snuggled deeper into Oliver's warm shirt, cooing a little as Oliver held him closer, sharing his body heat with the shivering infant. It was November, and the baby was in little but rags, old newspapers, and a dirty sweatshirt that looked suspiciously like something that may have once belonged to a certain gold-eyed brown-haired 'pack leader'.

"Is this yours?" Oliver asked quietly, gesturing to the hoodie. "Yeah," Cian replied, "He was pretty much in nothing but his diaper when I found him in a trash can near a place called, 'Charlie's Restaurant'. So I gave him my sweatshirt to keep warm."

"So you named him after where you found him?" Oliver asked, fascinated.

"Yeah, so maybe when he's older we can tell him where we found him, and he could possibly figure out where his parents might live from there. We named the little girl Cara, after 'Cara's Hair Salon', and we named Dave after 'Dave's Bike Shop', so we can remember where we found them. And, it was just plain easier to name 'em that way." Cian explained, rocking the little girl, Cara, in her arms gently.

"And do you take in any child that you find?" Oliver asked.

"Pretty much, yeah… I would never have forgiven myself if I had let Charlie stay in that trash can and die, or if I hadn't pulled Lila out of a cardboard box on the side of a highway." She said quietly. Oliver hadn't noticed until then, but the seemingly invincible, unbreakable, tough pack leader was crying. Cian looked up to see Oliver staring, and furiously brushed the tears off of her cheeks. "What're you lookin' at kid?" she snapped gruffly. Oliver only smiled. "Nothing," he told her, "Just a tiny piece of goodness in a dark, bad world."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"I can see you haven't changed much in almost a year now, have you, Matthew?" Lora said to the thief as he moved around and sat down in the chair next to hers.

"I suppose not." The thief replied, grinning. "Anyways, Lora dear, why are you here in Ostia this fine day?"

"Actually, I've been here for a week or two now. I've just been…traveling…and this inn here in Ostia is my latest stop. That's my reason; why are you here, at this inn? Did someone tell you of my presence here or something?" Lora asked.

"Well, the castle where Marquess Uther and Lord Hector live isn't very far from here at all, and earlier this morning reports came in about how a mysterious stranger has supposedly killed 'Kadhaver the Killer', here in this very inn, sometime last night. The man is a wanted murderer, you know." Matthew replied.

"And you thought you'd come here to investigate who killed Kadhaver? How very wise of you. The person might be a threat, I suppose. Were you ordered here or did you come of your own free will?" Lora inquired.

"I came to this inn a little after I heard that the man was dead, after asking my friend Leila to tell the Marquess and his brother where I have gone. Yes, you're right; I suppose the person who killed that evil murderer could be dangerous to others as well. I must try and figure out the person's motives soon." Matthew said teasingly. "Well, I'd best be off, to go find the killer. It was nice seeing you again."

"Uh, right. Sure. Farewell, Matthew." Lora said sardonically. She had an idea of what Matthew had in mind to do next, and she watched as he sauntered away a few tables, sat down, and ordered a drink from a nearby waitress.

"What's he up to?" Lora asked herself quietly, watching him.

A few minutes later, after draining his cup, Matthew walked slowly back to her table in the corner. "Excuse me, milady, but I have a few questions for you." He said to her, grinning wickedly.

"Oh? Is that so? Well, fine with me. Ask away." Lora replied innocently, grinning back at him. "I can't guarantee an answer, though."

"I see. Well, in that case, I'll just have to skip the questioning part and go straight to the arresting. Lora of… where the heck are you from, anyway?" he asked.

"Well… let's just say I'm from…the border of Sacae and Lycia, somewhere around there." Lora told him. She couldn't very well try to explain that she wasn't from this continent, much less this galaxy.

"Right then; Lora of the Border of Lycia and Sacae," Matthew said, making Lora laugh at his ridiculous title for her, "You are hereby under arrest by Ostian law for refusing to submit to questioning and… for the murder of one Kadhaver the Killer; even though he deserved it, the bloody piece of wyvern…" as Matthew trailed off into curses under is breath, Lora just sighed.

"You aren't really going to arrest me, are you?" she asked warily. Knowing Matthew, and she did, he would too, just for a laugh. Though, Lora had always wanted to try and escape a prison…

"It depends; did you kill him?" Matthew said, "And I want an answer, a true one at that." He continued, seeing her open her mouth to debate over it. Lora shut her mouth, and smiled ruefully.

"Well, I guess since we _are_ sort of friends, and we _have _known each other for awhile… I guess I can tell you. But not here, though. I'd rather not get mobbed by that fan-club over there." Lora replied slowly, gesturing vaguely towards the crowd of excited people, who were still trying to figure out which one of them was the killer.

"Oh, but of course. Follow me, then, if you please, milady." Matthew said gallantly, then sweeping into a very low bow.

"Yes, yes; let's just go, Matthew. I think that crowd is beginning to realize that I look suspicious of being the killer, seeing as how I'm not participating in their search…" Lora hissed at him, nervously eying the crowd of people from the inn, who were whispering and glancing over at her and her fellow thief conspicuously.

"Oh, I see… Is this the part of this play where we make a hasty exit from this scene?" Matthew muttered.

"Yes, we're exiting…stage left." Lora whispered back, and the two quickly speed-walked over to the chef's exit, as the crowd began to slowly creep towards them.

"Right… And we're out of here!" Matthew cried, and they dashed towards the door, and then flew out of it, not bothering to shut it behind them as they ran, laughing, as fast and far as they could go, just because they felt like it.

Panting, Matthew and Lora finally came to a stop, near what appeared to be the castle home of Marquess Uther and Lord Hector themselves.

"Whew! You sure know how to get a mob started, early in the morning." Matthew told Lora as they leaned against some trees.

"I guess so," Lora replied, "Though I wouldn't mind not having that particular skill." She grumbled. Matthew chuckled at this.

"I'm pretty sure you're stuck with it, if you keep you keep up your sneaky travels, going about killing evil-doers like you've been doing ever since Lady Lyndis' Legion broke apart." Matthew said, with a slightly more serious tone of voice.

"A-and what makes you think that's what I've been doing all this time?" Lora replied, as smoothly as she could. How did he know about how she had been traveling along, gathering information and killing wanted criminals? She had been doing everything she could think of to cover her tracks. How did Matthew find out?

"Well, for one thing, you just pretty much gave yourself away right now by being obviously nervous all of the sudden when I mentioned that. And for another thing, I've been…keeping tabs on everyone of my friends from Lyndis' Legion's days. I know that Lyn and Rath are visiting Lyndis' grandfather still in Caelin, along with Kent and Sain. And that Wil returned home with his parents, and I'm here in Ostia, and now you are too. I know more, but I won't bore you with the details." Matthew explained.

"And how in Elimine's name did you manage all that?" Lora asked, curious.

"Oh, I have my ways…" Matthew said mysteriously, smirking at her.

"I see. Fine then, I won't tell you all about my awesome adventures I had while traveling. You'll never find out how I brutally took care of that dangerous and most-wanted murder by… oh wait, never mind. I won't bore you with the details, Oh All-Knowing One." Lora retorted snidely. Matthew just laughed.

"Hmm, I think I like that title. I think I'll have everyone call me that." Matthew said cheerfully. Lora just glared at him.

"I wouldn't bet on it, kid. I know several people who would gladly chop you into pieces if you ever tried to tell them to call you that." Lora replied. Matthew grimaced.

"Yes, I guess you're right. Oh well…" Matthew sighed dramatically.

"HEY! Who goes there? Come out and face me, you cowards!" a challenging, deep male voice called out. Lora winced. Surprisingly, Matthew just smiled widely. Motioning for her to stay silent, he gestured to the tree. Figuring out what he meant, Lora quickly climbed the tree, and she heard Matthew's cloak whisper behind her as he followed her to rest on a heavy branch, hidden from view on the ground.

"Come on out, show yourselves!" the man called again, sounding angry now. "Stop hiding from sight like a weakling and come out and face me like real men!" he continued, Hearing the clanking of the armor grow steadily louder, Lora watched from her spot in the tree as the man walked over to stand almost directly beneath her and Matthew. He was tall, and wore a huge amount of bulky armor in the colors of Ostia, and he wielded a lance.

"Oswin, from the castle." Matthew mouthed to her silently. Lora nodded. Matthew had told her frequently of a man from Ostia named Oswin, who was in service of the Marquess there. He had told her of how Matthew often enjoyed playing pranks on this man, and the man never really retaliated besides meaningless threats. Matthew had made Lora laugh with these tales, and Lora was now quite eager to see what Matthew would do next.

"You know, Sir Oswin," Matthew said cheerfully as he dropped out of the tree to land right behind the knight. Oswin jumped, startled and looking quite surprised as he turned to face the chuckling thief. Smiling, Lora thought up an idea…

"And it's not very nice to assume that all people would _want _to 'fight like men'," Lora said clearly, as she too dropped out of the tree to land behind the already surprised knight, "And I happen to know for a fact that I fight better than many, many men, so I' think I'll fight like I usually do instead." Oswin jumped even higher, now more startled and flustered than ever, and whipped around to face the direction the unknown voice had come from. He swung his lance around with him, and it was only good reflexes that saved Lora from being whacked over the side of her head by it, as she quickly ducked, grinning widely.

"Who are you?!?" Oswin snapped, looking embarrassed to be caught off-guard.

"Let me introduce you to my good friend, Lora of the Border of Lycia and Sacae. Lora, this is Sir Oswin." Matthew said cheerily.

"Pleased to meet your acquaintance, Sir Oswin. I've heard much about you from Matthew. It's nice to meet you in person at last." Lora said, dropping a small curtsey.

Oswin just looked puzzled. "Dropping out of trees like a barbarian one moment, curtseying and speaking like a Lady the next…" he muttered. Lora giggled at this comment. "What has this hooligan told you about me anyway?" he asked Lora gruffly.

Lora smiled innocently. "Oh, nothing, just some amusing tales of tricks he's played on you/" she replied sweetly. Oswin's face grew red. "Matthew!" he shouted. "What lies have you been spilling into this girl's ears?"

"Oh, no Sir; I only told her the honest-to-goodness truth." Matthew replied, smirking wickedly.

"Oh, Elimine…" Oswin grumbled. "Well, I might as well escort you two to the castle. Lord Hector has been waiting for you and your reports, Master Matthew. And I suppose this…charming young lady would enjoy a night in Castle Ostia as well. I have no idea what your profession is, milady," Oswin said to Lora, "But if you're an enemy spy, you'll regret ever stepping foot into the castle."

"Have no fears, Sir Oswin. I am no spy." Lora said, somewhat truthfully. During the months between Lyn's story and this coming one, Lord Hector's, Lora had been practicing her spying skills, growing stealthier and sneakier, and getting lots of useful information along the way.

"Good. Follow me, then. And stay out of trouble, Master Matthew!" Oswin reprimanded the thief, who only grinned cheerfully in reply.

And the threesome of a knight and two spies/thieves set off for Castle Ostia, where Lora knew the next leg of the game's journey would begin.

((((((( _The End )))))))_

_(((((((((((((((((((((((((((( for now )))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))_

_Author's Notes: _ Grrr… I forgot (again) to make sure you know how to pronounce the weird names I gave to some of the OCs in my story. Wow, I have a lot more of those little peoples know... Anyways, Cian is pronounced "Si-ann" (si like the Spanish word for yes, and ann, well, like ann). Mira is pronounced "Mee-rah" ( I wasn't sure of that name was hard to figure out or not, 'cause of the 'i'). Corlin is pronounced "Kor-lyn" (like door but with a 'c' and lyn like Lady Lyn!). That's all the strange names I can think of at the moment, so anyways… Tons of thanks and free yummy cookies goes out to all the wonderfully awesome amazingly super cool sweet wicked reviewers who bother to take the time whenever I post a new chapter and review it. You're truly appreciated! Oh! I almost forgot. I apologize to all/any readers who were waiting for this chapter to come. I've just been soooooooooo busy lately I haven't had the time. Yes, it's very sad, I know. Darn you stupid teachers who take advantage of Thanksgiving Break to load us all up with huge amounts of homework, darn you! Hehehe… No I'm not insane! Really! Well, anyways, readers, I've got to go, so please, when you read this, do me a huge, jimundo, enormously large favor and review this fanfic! I'll love you forever! Ha, just kidding. Okay, I better shut up now before I scare you all away…. PLEASE REVIEW!!!


	11. Getting Back To the Game Plot Sort Of

_** When Wishes Come True **_

_Jina: _Okay, okay, I promise: no muses, whatsoever. None. Nada. Zippo. Nunca!

_Matthew: _Why not? We're not _that _bad.

_Jina: _AAGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!... NO! You're taking over my mind! I do not have control over my own thoughts! NNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…..

_Matthew: _Oh, just get over yourself and deal with it. We're, or at least, _I'm_, here to stay.

_Hector: _Me too.

_Oliver: _Me too!

_Eliwood: _Me too, even though I wasn't invited!

_Jina: to think of it, none of you were ever invited. Except maybe Oliver, once, 'cause I felt bad about taking away his twin. So why the heck are you all here? What is the purpose of having muses, anyway? For me, at least, you just take up writing space. Why did I ever want a muse, anyway?_

_Matthew: _You can ask us the meaning of life, too, and you're just as unlikely to get an answer. Well, a true one, at any rate.

_Jina: _ sigh Oh well. One of you, do the stupid disclaimer.

_Eliwood: _I'll do it! I never get to do it! Ooh! Pick me! Pick me!

_Jina: _Don't' be such a dork. Fine, do it. Hurry up, these people are tired of waiting. I'll bet you at least 90 of them never even read these disclaimers, they skip over them. So just get it over with.

_Eliwood: _Jina does not own Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken. Or Blazing Sword. Or whatever the translation is in English, Jina doesn't know, so neither do I.

_Jina: _Shut up. Sorry, I didn't mean to snap. But whatever. I'm apologizing to a figment of my imagination…. Scary…Oh! Yeah…. Hey reviewers, thanks soooo much for reviewing! I really appreciate when you let me know if I've messed up the characters or anything.

But I have excellent news! I started a new game on my FE thingy, so I could make sure I was far more accurate. I now have completed Lyn's story in this new game, and right now I'm on the Dread Isle fighting Uhai in Hector mode! Yay me!!! I also made sure to take notes on who was in each chapter, who joined each chapter, who we fought, that sort of thing. So now all my fanfics will be a lot more accurate! Hoorah! Hurray! Huzzah! Sugar high! Woooo!!! Yeah, I know, I'm a dork, I got over it, so should you. Anyways, I just thought I'd tell you this, 'cause it means my stories will hopefully be better, and also it is my excuse for not updating for sooooo long. I feel bad, I know you all you loyal readers' inner children are withering away without new updates from me to keep their fragile joy and amusement sustained. Hehehe… Just kidding. Anyways, on with the fic!

P.S. If there actually is a gang out there named 'Blade', I'm sorry for taking your name, and if I did it's purely coincidence, and if you're actually cool and not losers like the people in my story, I'm sorry for that as well. Please don't kill me.

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_ Chapter Eleven: Getting Back To the Game Plot (Sort of) _

"So, Matthew, are you going to go confront Hector or not? You know that he's going to try to run away. It was obvious by the way he stormed off when Lord Uther refused to send help to Eliwood of Pherae, to assist him in finding his missing father. I think you should go with him. He'll need your help. He's too hotheaded to be able to think clearly in many situations." whispered the voice of Lora, who for three months had been living in Castle Ostia, after traveling all through Elibe alone.

"I'm going to go, of course. The young master isn't good at considering the consequences of his actions; he just kills anybody who gets in his way, swinging around that overly-large axe of his in dangerous ways." Matthew, her fellow thief and best friend replied.

The two had gotten to know each other really well, in the time they spent together in Castle Ostia, playing tricks on Oswin and Hector, scaring everyone in the hallways by popping up out of nowhere, that sort of thing, stuff that thieves like them enjoyed doing for fun. Lora had never been happier, except… she still sorely missed Oliver. She knew why she couldn't see him, though.

The plot of the game, at this part of the story, says that one year has passed since Lyn's campaign ended. Lora knew that, while for the game players it was only a matter of seconds between campaigns, she would actually have to spend a year in the FE world by herself, until the right amount of time had passed. So she had waited, doing what she could to make her new world better, since she could actually kill people here and not get arrested. She never had been able to figure out how that little part of the game worked in the other world, but now she simply dismissed it as a fact of life and circumstance. But she had been lonely, and the only people she could really talk to were murderers and bandits, who never make very good conversation. And after spending three months in Ostia with Matthew and Oswin and Hector, she wasn't feeling lonely anymore.

"Of course he swings it around wildly! He is self-taught, after all. Being risky and dangerous is Hector's personality, so his fighting reflects it, I guess. Anyways, my sources (namely myself) tell me he is in the throne room, preparing to go. You did tell him you would bring him his axe and some traveling provisions, and since I have his axe here, you just need to get the provisions, and get down there before he comes storming up here and chops your head off for holding him up." Lora told him, handing him Hector's axe. Matthew took it, and then looked at her in sudden realization.

"Hey, I just thought of something. Where are you going to go while we are gone? What will you do? Are you going to stay here, or travel again?" he asked her. Lora froze, as she finally realized that if Hector and Matthew, and later Oswin and Serra, were going to go rescue Eliwood…Eliwood would be with his new tactician…Oliver. Which meant that Oliver was back in the game right now, but with Eliwood. And she was in Ostia. Where Eliwood wasn't. And she, as of yet, was not going with Hector and Matthew to save Eliwood. Which meant that she wouldn't be able to meet up with Oliver, at least not for awhile. She could join later, when they returned to Ostia, or travel separate from Matthew and Hector and meet up with them after they joined Eliwood and the rest, somewhere. But did she really want to be alone again? Did she really want to wait even longer to see her brother?

"Oh, Elimine, I hadn't thought of that. Umm…" Lora said, biting her lip.

"Come with us! That way, if the young master gets mad at me, you'll be there to make sure he doesn't chop me into little pieces. Seriously, though. Come with us. We might not be back for awhile, depending on how long it takes us to save the Marquess of Pherae." Matthew instantly suggested. Lora laughed inside herself when Matthew said this, for she knew that they were in for so much more than they expected, so much more.

"Well, I have nothing better to do, so… I guess I'll come." Lora replied, relieved. Now, she could go and see Oliver again, and still be with Matthew, and help Hector, who was also her sort-of friend, though it was almost a like-hate relationship, 'cause he got very upset whenever she took his stuff just for fun. Also, though her friends didn't know it yet, she, alongside them, would be saving their world. Something she had always read about in books, seen in movies, dreamed about, she would finally be able to do it. With Oliver there, too. She couldn't wait to leave.

"Alright, go talk to him, keep him busy, and I'll get the few things I own to bring with me." Lora hurriedly told him, and disappeared. Matthew too, disappeared, after thinking for a minute about what he would say to his lord.

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"Matthew, having you along is bad enough, but bringing _another _thief, to rob me and harass me the whole trip? No. She's not coming." Hector snapped. Matthew winced.

"Please, young master. She will be as helpful as I will be, which is very, very helpful," he added, seeing Hector roll his eyes, "Maybe even more so 'cause she's a little stronger than me."

"Please? Pretty, pretty please? I promise I'll be good and helpful and I won't take your stuff, so pleeeaaaase?" Lora pleaded. If Hector forbade her to travel with them, she couldn't very well go, 'cause, as a lord and the Marquess of Ostia's brother (plus the fact that she had been staying in his house for three months), he did have power over her, if only a little.

"Oh, ah…fine," Hector grumbled, "Nut you had better keep your promise, or else I'll sell you to the next group of bandits we see."

"Yes!" Lora sighed in relief. Matthew smirked.

"This trip won't be so dull, after all."

"You have to behave too, you little sneak." Hector said, shooting a glare at the cheery thief. Matthew only shot him an innocent, offended look that said, _'Who, me?'_.

"You won't even remember we're here, except that you won't have to fight all the enemies yourself. And, you won't have to pay big money to get supplies, obviously, considering our, um, professions." Lora told him in a reassuring voice.

"Sure... Are you ready to go, because we're not waiting for a long time for you. We've got to get out of here before Uther or Oswin find out my plan."

"I'm already prepared. Hold on, we'll be back." Lora replied, and she and Matthew disappeared after glancing at each other quickly.

"Darn thieves, who do they think they are, anyway? Sneaking about like that, lurking in the shadows." Hector grumbled. Abruptly, an unfamiliar figure popped up out of nowhere, clothed entirely in black, their face hidden, except for a pair of vague and mysterious, angry eyes…

&&&&&&&&&&&&&& _Oliver's World _&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"So, what do you need too know about our 'friends' to help us get rid of them?" said Cian as she leaned back in a rusty old computer swivel-chair and folded her arms across her chest, looking at him inquisitively.

"Well, what is their gang called?" Oliver asked.

"They; thinking they so cool and hot and whatever; decided to call themselves 'Blade', and they decided that this garbage dump, and the surrounding streets, which is _our_ territory, actually belongs to them. They're mean, tough, older than us, (even me), and they don't mind beating up innocent little kids, like the ones I take care of." Cian replied, sighing heavily, with a look of extreme dislike on her face.

"How often do ya fight?" Oliver asked. These 'Blade' people were sounding quite nasty.

"Well, every once in awhile, like especially when business goes down in the restaurants around here and where they stay, and there ain't enough food for everybody. The weird thing is, though, Blade wasn't always this way."

"They weren't?" Oliver inquired, now quite confused.

"No. Not at first. They were just another pack of us street-rats, in the beginnin'. They were older than us, and tougher, but they was like us: hungry, cold, tired, alone except for the rest of us hungry, tired, lonely people. That's why we make gangs and packs; we ain't got no one else. But, they got themselves a new guy, a nasty one. Real mean, real tough, no conscience. He turned them around, from being just another group of kids like us, to being rivals, fighters, greedy little idiots who don't care 'bout nothing else besides stuffing food in their mouths and getting the rest of us out of the way." Cian told him, a far-away look in her eyes as she recalled the events that led up to their awful situation.

"Their leader, Kyla, she _was_ alright," she continued after a moment, sadness flickering in her eyes and across her face as she said the name, "A little rough around the edges, a little aggressive, cold-hearted at first, even; but she would never have attacked us, in the beginning. Her and her gang often took on older, crueler, rivals, the ones who would eat _us _for food if we didn't get them anything else; she'd get rid of them druggies who scum up the streets, the murderers hiding from the law. But she would never hurt a kid, not any of these brats. She actually brought a few to us, for me to take care of. She was a fairly good person, strong, uncorrupted like so many other things in our world; or so we thought. You see, Kyla, well, I'm pretty sure she's about eighteen years old, and she was lonely for love, I guess. Something like that. That's the only reason I can figure she'd turn on us kids like she did.

Kyla met a guy, named Stefano, when she and her fighters where taking care of some drug-lord. He was alone, and harmless-looking. He had no place to go, he was only nineteen, and he already knew a bit about how to fight… Kyla took him into her gang, and he worked his way up from 'new guy on the block' to 'boyfriend'. She fell in love with him; he supposedly was in love with her too, and… He got his hands on the controls of the Blades. Now, for money, any piece of scum can go up to them, and but their sighting skills, and get rid of people in their way. Druggies, murderers, criminals, all them idiots; if they can afford the Blade, they can get them to 'dispose' of anyone.

But, business for the Blade is going down. A gang can only kill so many people before the police find 'em out. So now, in their spare time, they're trying to take us over, get rid of us, lighten their competition for food. We can fight, at least us older ones can, but… They got skills, and practice, and experience, and we don't. We lost a fight to them a few weeks back; they took the "Judie's Pizzeria" area, where the best food can be snatched. We can't keep fighting, though. We almost lost Lonny to them; they knifed him, and he only just was healed enough to leave the bus with the little ones last week. The only one of us besides me who knows any first aid is Marnie, and she's only ten, and though she helps, she can't do that much. So, the short version of it is; we don't start fighting and winning, we don't got much of a chance." Cian finished, looking sad, and weary. Oliver guessed that she had been fighting for these unwanted kids for a long time, and it was beginning to wear on her, drag her down.

"So, we don't have enough fighters…"

"No, we got plenty of fighters. They just don't got any experience, and we only have me, Marnie the ten year old, and Corlin, to fix 'em up if they get hurt. I'm taking care of little kids who would rather play tag or with a doll, or have a tea party, or with toy soldiers. These kids, I can't make 'em fight. They're _babies_, practically, for heaven's sake. How can we fight, and lose, and maybe die; when I'm trying to help these kids survive?" Cian interrupted, looking desperate. It was obvious she had spent many a day trying to figure this out.

"Okay, so how many kids you got over twelve?" Oliver asked. He didn't think he could ask anyone younger to fight. Fighting scars you for life, you can forever see the blood of your victims on your hands, hear their voices in your mind, see their faces, their eyes… Oliver couldn't force that on innocent kids.

"Uh, about, five, maybe? We've got the three littlest ones, about five kids who should be in grade school, three kids who are about eleven or twelve, a thirteen year old, me (I'm fifteen), and Corlin, who's thirteen. I think there's a few more, but I don't know their ages, though I'm pretty sure one's as old as me, and the other is twelve. That's everybody, I think. Oh, and you, Tony. How old are you?" Cian told him, counting the kids off on her fingers.

"I'm fifteen." Oliver replied.

"Oh, that's good. Do you fight?"

"Not really, though I do know how to, a little. I'm mostly good on strategizing."

"Say what? I ain't a dictionary, ya know."

"Yeah, well… anyways, I can help you plan out your fights, so that you don't lose. Fighting isn't everything. A good plan will help you out, especially since we have a total of about two people who can and will fight."

"If you say so, Tony. I wouldn't know. I ain't a runaway, I never really got a education, or whatever. I don't know much about figuring things out, and all that jazz."

"So that's why you need me. I can do it for you, and then all you have to worry about is beating off those Blade idiots and keeping you flock-herd-gaggle-"

"Pack."

"Right, pack. I knew that. Whatever. You can protect them. And then, you'll beat the Blade gang so hard, they'll run away crying, back to wherever they belong. I do the planning, you do the protecting, everyone's happy. Deal?"

Cian seemed to think about this for a moment, then grinned and said, "Deal."

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"That was fun." Lora said, wiping blood off her daggers as she walked up to Lord Hector.

"Definitely. I haven't had so much fun in quite some time." Matthew agreed, stepping up beside her.

"Yeah, sure. I'm just glad we managed to get out of that alive. Matthew, you almost died there, when they one assassin got you with his axe." Hector grumbled.

"I was fine. A little scratch, that was all. Nothing big." Matthew said cheerily.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Lora told Hector, "If he isn't, we can just get rid of him."

"Hey! You can't get rid of me! I'm important. You would be helpless without me, you know." Matthew protested, smirking. Lora and Hector snorted with laughter.

"Shouldn't we get going, now that we've gotten rid of those imbeciles? We do need to leave this castle, at some point. My brother won't remain oblivious forever, and if we want to escape without notice for awhile, we've got to go now." Hector said.

"Right, of course. Do we need anything else for our trip?" Lora asked Matthew.

"Of course not. I'm the one who packed everything, so we have everything I thought we'd need."

"What did you put in here? Knowing you, you packed me ridiculous things I'll never need."

"I did not! Let's just go, before we get stopped." Matthew quickly replied, and then disappeared into the shadows. Laughing, Lora slipped away into the darkness as well. Hector, being a slightly more normal person, just grumbled and mumbled as he clonked through the hallways in his heavy armor, muttering something about "stupid thieves" and "think they're all that" and "just because they can disappear…".

After a while, the trio of Matthew, Hector, and Lora escaped Castle Ostia, and were traversing the countryside. None of the three travelers was saying much, each thinking his or her own thoughts, and remembering, and planning.

Hector was lost in his thoughts of Eliwood's father's whereabouts, what all those assassins hidden in the castle meant, and how the heck they were going to save Marquess Elbert of Pherae if was indeed captured.

Lora was thinking about Oliver, and how he was doing in his world, and whether or not he was staying out of trouble without her there to help him out of it. She was also thinking about the end of the game. Now that they were in Hector/Eliwood mode, they were that much closer to finishing the game. Lora didn't know what would happen at the end of the game. Would she still be here? Would she return to Oliver's world? Would she cease to exist? She was thoroughly lost, confused, and feeling rather depressed, walking down the lonely country roads with her companions with nothing but these thoughts to keep her mind busy.

Matthew was thinking about Leila, a fellow spy and an assassin from Ostia. She was beautiful, with crimson hair that covered one eye, one of a pair that almost exactly matched her hair color, mysteriously. She was smart, and a good spy. She had been given an "important mission", or so she told Matthew. She had been gone for several months now, and Matthew knew next to nothing about her assignment. He wasn't worried, because Leila was stranger and more cunning than he was at times, and was good at getting herself out of sticky situations. But he still missed her. He wanted to talk to her more, introduce her to his parents, be with her more…He really liked her, but they were spies, and loyal to Ostia, and they both had work to do. After her and his mission were both over, Matthew thought he might ask her to put aside the dangerous lives they led, and settle down with him. He couldn't wait. Lora would like her, Lora and Leila were alike, and Lora… Lora. Matthew was still confused about Lora. How he felt about her, her about him. They were friends, good friends, and he liked it that way. Did she? He hoped so. He didn't want their friendship to end. She was one of the only people he had ever trusted, and it was hard to earn his trust. They were just friends, right?

The three companions (well, lord and servants) traveled on in silence, moving steadily down the roads and lanes and paths that led them to Eliwood, a noble quest, a new journey, and a lot of change.

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&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& End &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

_Author's Notes: _Oh my goodness oh my goodness oh my goodness! I'm reeeeaaaaallyy sorry it took me soooooooo long to get this chapter done. I dunno, I just… had not time, not too much inspiration, and a lot of false starts. Now, at least, it is done. Ha ha! I've finally accomplished something! I'm not lazy! So there, math teacher lady! So there! Yeah, homework (cough cough way too much math homework cough cough) has been keeping me busy. Hopefully, I'll get another chapter up soon. I just have to think of an idea for it… ah! Oh, beautiful butterfly that is all inspiration; why have you flown so far away??? quote from some movie I watched while babysitting yesterday, something about Dalmatians or something, like a zillion or a million or a hundred of them. Yeah, but don't worry, readers! I will come up with something, something interesting (I hope), I promise! Okay, so make sure you tell me what you think of this chapter, if you can. Is the gang stuff too stupid, should I get rid of it? Is some mafia-like gang actually called Blade gonna come kill me in my sleep? Oh, and did anyone see how I made the gang situation like the Black Fang? Anyone? Any takers? I wasn't sure if it was obvious enough. Message me or something if you don't get it, but you should. I think. I might just be delusional and think I made them alike, or something. Or I'm just delusional, anyway. Whatever. Yay for random rambling no one cares about! Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter. Please do me a **_HUMUNGOUS _**(spelled right?) favor and review this for me! If you think me story sucks, don't just move on from it! Tell me that you think it stinks (but nicely, please) and why! Thank you! And thank you to you b-e-a-U-tiful people who already review every chapter or whatever. Need I say how cool you are? Thanks!

p.s. OH MY GOODNESS! I just looked at the 'live preview' thingy for this chapter and the whole flippin thing is in italics! Not sure why, but whatever. I can't fix it. Then again, it might just be my computer that's being stupid like that. Anyways, all I want to say is, I didn't make the whole thing in italics, it just came out that way, for some reason. Grr!


	12. Gathering Up The Troops

_** When Wishes Come True **_

_Jina: _Hey there everybody. Listen I am really sorry for taking so long to put up new chapters. Aah, I can still recall those good old days when I got a new chapter up every other day…sigh… Yeah, anyways, I'm sorry that I'm so busy (and so lazy) that I've been really slow. Also, I don't always have any inspiration when I need it. Sorry. Anyways, humongous thanks go out to everyone who reviewed, I really appreciate it. You're very encouraging, and it helps me want to keep this story going. Thanks, and keep it up! So, here's chapter twelve. Take it away, Hector!

_Hector: _Why do I have to do this? It's stupid. Why can't _you_ tell everyone that you don't own Fire Emblem? I knew you were lazy, but this is taking it to a whole new level.

_Jina: _Shut up! You don't even know! You're just a blue-haired thick-skulled idiot who's one step away from being a homicidal maniac like Karel!

_Karel: _…My sword thirsts for your blood…

_Jina: _You shut it, too! Wait, you're not even in my story yet, where the heck did you come from?

_Karel: _…

_Jina: _Oh, I see. Now you're just being a homicidal maniacal Jaffar-poser!

_ Karel then looks at the author with a demonic gleam in his eye, and slowly unsheathes his beloved Wo Dao_…

_ SCENE CENSORED FOR VIOLENCE, BLOODSHED, AND GORY DEATH SCENES I DON'T KNOW HOW TO WRITE _ Karel leaves the room smirking evilly, to commit Elimine knows what sort of horrendous deeds somewhere

_Jina: _…owww… bleeds profusely

_Hector: _Hahaha…loser…

_Jina: _You know…if I wasn't in so much pain right now, I would write you a horrible death scene right this very moment…or… I could do worse…

_Hector: _NO! Not…

_Jina: _Yes, my thick-skulled friend…you failed to remember that I control your life, and if you're mean to me, I just might give you a support conversation…with SERRA! MUAHEEHEEHEEHEE! giggles evilly

_Hector: _NOOOOO!!! falls to the ground in dead faint

_Jina: _Wimp…Anyhow, I would just like to say two things. Firstly, I do not own Fire Emblem. Secondly, I apologize for my very inconsistent updates; it's not my fault, really. It's the combined evils of homework, a busy schedule, and no fun and free time for me. It's quite sad, really. You all know how it is. Thanks to everyone who still takes the time to be oh so kind and review my fic! You're amazingly wonderful, really. Okay, enough rambling, on with the twelfth chapter!

P.S. WARNING! THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS (ABOUT CERTAIN PEOPLE MEETING OTHER PEOPLE RELATED TO THEM). IF YOU HAVE NOT PLAYED OUT THE GAME, YOU MAY NOT WANT TO READ THIS. THEN AGAIN, YOU MIGHT ANYWAY, BECAUSE YOU'RE COOL LIKE THAT. SO, YEAH…ANYWAYS... Here's the fic (at last)!

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_Chapter Twelve: Gathering Up The Troops_

"Would you two hurry up? I think I see Eliwood, way over there. We need to get to him quickly!" said a very impatient Lord Hector to the two thieves behind him, who had just come out of nearby houses looking very satisfied with themselves, and having their bags of stolen goods a little fuller than when they arrived here.

"Relax, milord. Young Lord Eliwood has plenty of help with him, as you must be able to observe. He will be fine with those others to aid him." Matthew told the young lordling, rolling his eyes. His young master seemed convinced that the battle could not be won, and Eliwood saved, without his own "superior" fighting skills added to the brawl.

"Yes, Lord Hector, Lord Eliwood is very well protected; he will come to no harm." Lora said reassuringly as she walked closer. Her keen eyes, however, were not on the lord she was speaking to, but past him, onto the battlefield. Searching the faces of Eliwood and his band eagerly. Finally, her eyes fell upon the face of the person she had been so anxiously awaiting to see…Oliver. Hector, turning to see what she was staring at, missed seeing her face light up with delight as she gazed upon her much-missed brother. However, Matthew saw her face brighten, and felt happy for her, knowing that while she had put up an uncaring façade, she had greatly missed her tactician brother.

"What? What do you see?" asked Hector.

"No one, I'm just observing the battle where it stands at the moment. Eliwood and his band of fighters are doing well; all we really have to concentrate on is plowing through a few bandits to reach them." Lora told him easily, and walked away, checking her inventory of weapons and vulneraries to make sure she was prepared.

"Are you ready to fight, Young Master?" questioned Matthew, looking at the scowling face of his lord.

"Yes, of course! I was born ready." Retorted Hector, and then he swung his axe up on his shoulder and began walking briskly towards the direction of Eliwood.

"Come on, Lora. We'd best catch up, before he does something foolish." Matthew said to the other thief as he walked up to her, making sure that he was ready as well. Lora nodded, smirking, and they set off after their temperamental master.

They decided not to tell Hector that a certain Ostian knight named Oswin, and the pink-haired cleric named Serra, were right behind them.

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"Who's that over there? Enemy reinforcements?" asked a young girl with cheerful green eyes (that were darkened slightly with anxiety at the moment) and dark green hair braided into pigtails that was adorned with a bandana. She wore the uniform and armor of an archer, and carried a bow and arrows as well.

"No, Rebecca; I don't think so… I think it's…Hector!" replied an astonished young man standing slightly in front and to the right of her, guarding her against the bandits. His earnest blue eyes were wide, but then they returned to normal size, and he nodded his head in acceptance of this new twist.

"Just like Hector to come and 'save me', just as an excuse to fight." The man grumbled. The wind ruffled his spiky and messy brilliant red hair as he stood still for a moment, reminiscing about his youth and long friendship with Hector.

"Eliwood, do you see those people all the way over there? Do you know them?" asked another voice, right behind him. Eliwood jumped, startled, then grinned.

"Oliver, you startled me. I did not hear you come up. Anyways, yes, I do indeed know those people. Do you see the one with the blue hair? That's Lord Hector, brother of the Marquess of Ostia, Lord Uther. I'm not quite certain of the identities of the two people next to him, but the man in the heavy armor with the Ostian crest on it is Sir Oswin. Lord Uther must have ordered Sir Oswin to follow Hector; because knowing him, he refused any assistance from his brother's servants." Eliwood told him. Oliver nodded, but he did not look at Hector and the others; his mind was already busy planning out a way to get to Hector without getting killed by the stupid bandits.

"Lord Eliwood, Sir Oliver, we are ready when you are. Give us your next orders at any time," stated the serious voice of a Paladin who rode up behind the archer, Lord, and tactician.

"Sir Marcus, I need you to protect Rebecca as she takes out some of those bandits lurking in the mountains over there. Rebecca, you heard what I just said; do you understand my orders?" said the tactician, Oliver, in a commanding voice.

"Yes, Oliver. Right away!" chirped the young but talented archer, and she and the paladin carefully made their way over to where a few ugly enemies were creeping down out of the mountains. Satisfied, Oliver then turned to the four remaining members of the band he was commanding.

"Bartre, Dorcas, Lowen, make you way over to that pass between the mountains with Eliwood, and block it so no enemies can get through your lines. Understand?"

"Yes sir!" replied Lowen, an eager young man with mint-y green hair that covered his eyes who was anxious to prove that he was worthy of being a knight of Pherae. Dorcas, a strong but quiet axe wielder nodded, and turned to follow the already trotting off Lowen. Bartre, another axe-user, just stared dumbly at the tactician, eyes somewhat glazed over. Oliver sighed, and then decided to try another tactic.

"You, Bartre; you need to go kill bandits. Hit them with shiny axe. Stay with others. Understand?" Oliver told the rather empty-headed man slowly and clearly, as though he was talking to a small child, or someone who didn't really understand the language.

"Bartre go and destroy enemies!" shouted Bartre, and he then ran off to catch up to the other, leaving a frustrated Oliver standing there, his hand on his forehead.

"Someone, please just save me from the stupid people," he muttered darkly, as he too ran to catch up with the fighters.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Argh! I can't believe Uther would be so...so…annoying! I asked for his assistance, he wouldn't give me any, and then he turns around and sends Sir Oswin the Nag and Serra the Demon-Cleric to harass, 'oops' I mean help, me!" grumbled a red-faced Hector, pacing angrily. Lora and Matthew only struggled to contain their laughter and didn't say anything, snorting despite their best attempts.

"Lord Hector! How dare you speak of a lady such as me in that manner! How utterly atrocious and un-gentlemanly of you!" cried the offended (and quite high-pitched) voice of a young girl in cleric's robes with bright pink hair and an overly loud voice volume. Hector winced as her shrill voice shattered his fragile ear drums. Matthew and Lora lost all control and started laughing, and Oswin just stood there blankly.

"Whatever. I just need to go talk to Eliwood as soon as possible," muttered Hector.

"Lord Hector, it is best we rendezvous with Lord Eliwood and his company quickly, but I must advise you to be cautious in your planning. The battle field is still full of enemies, and you would not want them to-"

"Alright, Sir Oswin, I get the point! I know what I'm doing! Just follow me; we have to get to Eliwood." Hector snapped, and strode off. Matthew and Lora rapidly scurried after him, and Serra and Oswin were quick to follow; Oswin pulling out his lance, and Serra readying her healing staff. Finally, the small group of Ostians (plus Lora) was ready to battle.

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A good while later, Hector's and Eliwood's troops were tired but victorious, and they rested together a bit, getting to know the people they would depend on to survive and defeat enemies with before moving on. The battle had been won, and all their goals were accomplished. Hector had met up with Eliwood, the two groups had joined together, and they had easily defeated the bandits. Lora had known better than to interrupt her brother while he was working, and even after when he was talking to Hector and Eliwood, so she waited to meet up with him. She knew she had to talk to him fast, though, before that chapter of the game was over and he disappeared while they traveled.

Seeing him nod his head respectfully to the lords and walk away slowly, hands clasped behind his back and his brow furrowed in thought, Lora quickly ran up to him, footsteps silent in the soft grass.

"Oliver." She said as she walked up to him. He jumped and turned around to see who was talking to him, and saw her there.

"Lora!" he replied, his face breaking into a smile. "You're here! You're part of Hector's group! How did you do it?" he asked, firing a bunch of questions at her at once.

"Easy, Oliver. How bout you start with a 'hello, I've missed you'?" she teased him. He grinned sheepishly, and then they hugged. _'It's nice to be with my brother again,' _she thought to herself, and she smiled. She was lucky, so many others in this game didn't get to see their families until a long time, except for people like Priscilla and Raven, Karla and Karel, and _maybe _Rebecca and that pirate guy named Dart (though there wasn't much familial resemblance at all).

"Anyways, I've been traveling Elibe, doing…things…while I waited for the next part of the game to start, and then for the past couple weeks I had been living at Castle Ostia, after Matthew found me. Then, Matthew and I persuaded Lord Hector to let me come to, and… here I am!" Lora explained.

"That's great! Did you visit that one old woman you spent your first days in FE world with, um, what was her name…"

"Janelle. Her name was Janelle, and yes, I did visit her; only briefly though, too briefly. But I had other things I wanted to do, and she understood, so I left."

"Okay. She seemed like a nice person."

"She was. So, how have you been? How's the other world doing?"

"Heh heh heh…Well, for starters…Remember when I told you, a while ago, that our parents were making me go to a counseling camp?" Lora nodded her head slowly, and since she knew her twin so well, she could already sort of imagine exactly what her stubborn brother had done.

"Well, before they could send me away, I ran from home, and since then I've been living in the streets." Oliver told her. Lora's eyes widened as she looked at Oliver.

"Really? How have you been surviving?"

"You see, I was 'adopted' by a gang of really young street-rats, taken care of by a girl our age named Cian. I've been helping them get ready for a big gang fight between them and their enemies. The weird thing is, their enemies, the Blades, they're a lot like the Black Fang, here. Once they were good, but they were corrupted. Now we're going to go confront them on their own territory once and for all, so that the little children we're protecting stay safe, and have better chances of living past childhood."

"Geez, that's really strange. Who would have ever thought?" Lora asked, looking ponderous. Oliver agreed that it was an ironic coincidence.

"But Oliver, you better be careful. You never took karate, or any self-defense classes, how will you protect yourself?"

"That's easy. I've been learning street-fighting from Cian and her friends who know how to fight. I've gotten stronger, and with that and my planning skills, I can really help these kids out. You'd have to see them, Lor, to know how bad it is for them, and how hard their lives are. They've been abandoned, abused, mistreated, hurt, starved, and beaten up. It's hard for them, and there are kids on the streets who are only infants!" Oliver told her passionately. He was really fired up about this, Lora could tell. He had that look in his eye, the one people get when they've found something they've been searching for their whole lives. Lora was happy for him, but anxious as well… He had never been a fighter, had always preferred to talk things out instead, to compromise. How would he hold up against these gang fighters?

"That's terrible, Oliver. I'm glad you can help them out, but…make sure you keep yourself safe, too. Don't get hurt out there, okay?" Lora said. Oliver looked slightly angered when she said this.

"Lor, I know how to take care of myself. I don't need you around to protect me from the big, bad world. I'll be fine. I don't want you worrying about me. Worry about yourself, here. You're in more danger than I can ever be." He replied softly, but Lora could tell he was somewhat offended by her wanting him to stay safe.

"I understand. I know you'll be fine, but I'm your twin; it's my job to worry about you, and want to keep you safe. You're my best friend." Lora sad to him gently, trying to ease his temper, knowing that she didn't get to see him often enough, and the last thing she wanted to do was fight with him.  
"And you're mine, too, so you need to stay alive too. Listen, I gotta go, but I'll be back. Keep an eye on my troops for me, eh?" Oliver replied cheerily, not angry at her anymore; and Lora smirked, stood up extra straight and saluted him, and said, "Aye-aye, Captain!"

Laughing, she ran off to where the others were setting up camp for the night, waving goodbye over her shoulder as she went. Oliver knew it was time for him to go too, and he disappeared.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& _Oliver's World _&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Oliver flicked the on/off switch on the side of his Game Boy and stood up from his spot sitting in the driver's seat of the broken school bus-turned day care center/nursery. It was his turn to watch over and guard the littlest ones, and once they'd all fallen asleep he'd finally had a chance to relax a little. His game was sometimes the only thing keeping him sane in his new life of darkness, deceit, and hunger. The kids of Cian's pack, though cared for to the best of Cian's and the oldest ones' abilities, were all always hungry, always cold (especially know that winter was coming, its icy breath already creeping down the backs of their necks) and now; always, always tired. The fighting was a faint, but constant background noise in the ears of all involved, seemed non-stop, the background music in their rotten action/adventure movie. Cian's pack was now a larger, somewhat stronger, and more fighting-able team, and they were actually starting to turn the tables in the territory war. Over the past week, a few more kids had joined up; stronger, older, kids, who came to see what was going on, but joined their pack with a little persuasion from the right people.

An old friend of Cian's had come, a stubborn but loyal teenage guy named Henry, and he was a help. Oliver had been told by Cian that they had always been friends, since childhood even, and she had seen him again very recently, just two weeks past in fact; though she didn't say why.

With Henry came a kid nicknamed "Velcro" (for he always innocently claimed that he wasn't a pick-pocket, just that his fingers stuck to things of their own accord), an even older boy (old enough almost for college, maybe, but it was obvious he thought himself responsible for the younger, wilder Henry) named Garren, who was strong and loyal, but thought Henry was too reckless for his own good. Also coming with them was an eccentric girl named Kalita, and she was, surprisingly, not a toughened fighter, but a healer (of sorts); a homeless orphan. Her mother had once been the owner of a unique shop that sold all sorts of things, from homemade, old-fashioned healing remedies to books on your inner soul and karmic energies, and other sorts of deep and interesting things, unfortunately things that were often dismissed as foolish and untrue. She knew quite a few healing remedies and was a very intelligent young woman, though she enjoyed gossiping a lot.

These people (with the exclusion of Kalita) were added to Cian's pack's slowly growing troop of defenders, fighters who were dedicated to taking care of those unwanted, unloved, mistreated kids; and if that meant fighting other people, then so be it. Cian herself, Corlin (who was sometimes overly enthusiastic in her wanting to fight and protect the younger ones, but since she was only thirteen, she couldn't do all that much against older and larger Blade members); the only seventeen year old of the group (who Cian had known only slightly, as he only joined her recently, and was a member of some other gang until a few weeks ago) named Jonas, who was quite strict and sometimes dull; a young twelve year old girl named Meghan who was formerly locked up in a school (of sorts) for juvenile delinquents, a renowned vandal with really good aim for delicate glass windows (among other things), and a really good talent for using a sling-shot; and two brothers; Karter and Darin, one twelve and one fourteen; these were two of the original members of Cian's pack who had been willing and able to fight. Now, with the addition of Henry, Garren, and Velcro, their numbers were growing. And now Marnie (the pack's former only nurse-type girl) had the help of Kalita, though Oliver and Cian suspected she would give up her role as soon as their 'reinforcements' arrived, since she hated the sight of blood and was only twelve, after all.

Cian had finally finished telling Oliver her story, and he had listened carefully through the whole of it, and then went to take his turn watching the babies on the bus, which is where he was now. Checking to make sure each of the tiny infants was sleeping soundly and being kept sufficiently warm, he then returned to his spot in the front, and sunk deep into thought about everything Cian had told him.

She had told him about the Blades a little more, given to them by a 'secret agent/spy' type boy named Luke, an old friend of Velcro's and Henry's; and also from another source Oliver guessed, and he thought it was Cian because she was very descriptive, more so than she could be from information gotten from a spy. Luke had told them only a little information before having to return to his post as a member of the Blades to not arouse suspicion. Cian, Henry, and Oliver had been there to hear his information, and they had begun making plans based on that. Also at that meeting had been Kym, a friend of Cian's before Oliver's time in the pack, a girl with Native-American ancestry and good skill with daggers. She had been living alone in the streets among the drug-lords, scumbags, murderers, and thieves for a while, and she had become good at defending herself. She had arrived with a few of her friends she had made, a guy named Phil who could throw daggers, knives, and other sharp pointy things into people at great distances, though he wasn't good at hand-to-hand combat at all; her two brothers Cameron (who was very serious) and Sam (who was a but of a player), and a timid girl named Felicity, who was Kym's best friend.

So Cian's small pack was now roughly the size of a miniscule army, but they still numbered far less than the Blades. Hopefully, the group could make up for less quantity with better quality. Kym, Henry, and Cian were the leaders, each with their own small faction of fighters from gangs and friends that were made living the hard life on the streets.

Oliver couldn't help but continually be struck by the irony of the entire situation, and how it so closely seemed to mirror his game. He wasn't sure if on the group's way to the confrontation between the two gangs they would pick up more fighters, like they did in the game, but it would be nice. The Blades were older, tougher, more experienced, and crueler, and Oliver still wasn't positive, even now with the combined forces Cian had gathered up, that they would win the gang-war.

Life wasn't like a game; the good guys didn't always win, people could actually be killed, and there was no 'Restart' button for him to press. Cian, and now Kym and Henry (sort of), were depending on him to lead their gangs into a fight, and Oliver wasn't sure if he could do it. Now, more than ever, he wished Loryn was there; to help him stay calm and focused, to listen to him rant and then cool him down, and basically help him save those kids. She was a fairly good tactician too, no matter how many times she had to reset her chapter on the game. He needed her, even to just have someone who knew the truth about him his real name, his old life, everything he could not tell these people.

"Tony, I'm here to take over for you. You can go and talk to Cian now, I think she needs to speak to you." Said the voice of Corlin, startling him out of his reverie.

"Oh! Okay. Thanks, Corlin." Oliver said, relaxing a little.

Corlin looked at him quizzically.

"Are you okay, Tony? You've seemed a little jumpy lately, a little nervous. If it's about the whole Blade thing, don't worry! I've been doubling, no tripling, how many times I do my daily exercises to help me be stronger and fight better, so I'm gettin' better at fighting, really! I can do it, I know I can! Cian tells me to take it easy, but Jonas tells me that I won't never be able to stand up for myself when I'm on my own if I don't learn how to now. I'll even…even…what's the word for doing something four times more than usual, Tony?"

"Quadruple."

"Oh, right. I knew that! But please, Tony, tell Cian I can fight. I can!" Corlin pleaded. Her brown eyes, well what Oliver could see of them behind her shaggy brown bangs, were like a puppy's, and Oliver couldn't resist. He understood the young girl's desire to fight, to be strong. He sighed heavily, hoping that he wouldn't come to regret his decision later on if this enthusiastic little thirteen year old got hurt, or even killed.

"I'll talk to Cian and the other pack leaders tomorrow, Corlin. Now, I gotta go talk to them, so I'll tell her right away. See you later. Stay watchful for them sneaky Blades." Oliver told the eager young girl. Her eyes brightened ecstatically, and Oliver couldn't help but grin at her excitement as he walked down the steps of the bus and away into the junkyard, looking for Cian.

As he walked, he saw many members of Cian's original pack, playing with the new additions, and he couldn't help but feel desperate and lost, as he considered what would happen to all these people should he make a mistake. Should he get one of them killed, or wounded, or lost. He was already feeling guilty for making such young kids fight (even though they desperately needed every fighter they could find), he couldn't imagine having to see one of them get hurt.

"What have I gotten myself into?" he murmured to himself as he walked around the hideout. "What will I do?"

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( _The End _))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

_Author's Notes: _Hey everybody (again)! I just want to make sure you're clear on a few things. Please please please don't review and yell at me for any bad grammar in here, 'cause I try to make sure that only ever happens when the street kids are talking. Well, seeing as how they're all young kids, and only a few of them got any real schooling, who could expect these rugged kids to have good grammar? So yeah, I just wanted to make sure y'all understood that. Also, I'm hoping to get Chapter Thirteen up soon, but I cant' guarantee it because after all it is Christmas, and I'll probably be at my grandma's house (yay, lucky me) ( --note sarcasm)for awhile, and I can't type or even get on the internet there. It's very sad, I know, but anyways… So, what'd you guys think of this chapter? Was it good? Did it make sense? Did it keep your interest, or were you bored? Were the characters realistic enough (the street ones, I mean). They might not be, but I can't really help that, so sorry. Just please, dearest readers, REVIEW!!! Also, many thanks goes out to the wonderfulistic reviewers I already have (yes, wonderfulistic is _too _a word!). You guys are the best! So, anyone who wants to make my day, heck, make my _week_, review this story! Also, a note to eclipsedragon, I need to ask you some stuff based on your request (though make sure you notice Kalita, eclipsedragon!) to make sure I don't sound ignorant or anything, but your private messaging is off. I really want to grant your request, but I need to know more about it!

Anyways, thanks to everyone for either A) reading this fic or B) reviewing it. You guys rock! Thanks!


	13. Lords, Lessons, and Old Friends

_**When Wishes Come True**_

_Jina: _Hey there, loyal readers! What's up? Well, I know I've been a bad, bad author and not working all that hard to get out new updates on any sort of regular basis (or even at all, for like two months…bad author! bad author! Bad! Bad!), so I will do my best to get this chapter up asap. And, for extra special entertainment, for a muse I'm bringing in…the one and only, amazingly egotistical and snobbish Price from a game that isn't even the one I'm using in this fic… Prince Innes the Stuck-Up of Frelia in Magvel!

_Innes: _Er, where the heck am I? Who are you? Who are all these pitiful freaks? (gestures at the crowd of FE 7 characters, looking depressed 'cause I have been neglecting their rather sorry fic).

_Hector: _Look who's talking?!? Why are you here? Are you Black Fang?

_Innes: _I have no idea who you're talking about. Are you remnants of the Grado army? If you are, bring it on! I can take a bunch of lazy wimps like you!

_Hector: _Says you! We can take you, little man! Nobody likes a stuck up, rude, overly annoying jerk who thinks he's all that! (fails to acknowledge the fact that his own friends are staring at him and trying not to laugh as an otherwise silence awkwardly occurs)

_Innes: _But I AM all that, so that doesn't apply to me. Did you know your face gets rather purple in color when you're mad?

_Hector: _ face turning purple as they speak Grrr!

_Innes: _Oh, relax, peasant. I won't be here for long. All I'm here to do is the disclaimer.

Ahem. Jina Fate does not own Fire Emblem, seven OR eight. To be honest, she doesn't own much at all, really, I've seen her hut-thing she calls 'home', it's pretty pitiful.

_Jina: _HUT-THING?!? It's called a house! And it's much more reasonable than an oversized castle! Less cleaning to do!

_Innes: _Why would I care about the amount of cleaning? Unlike maid and servant type people like you, I don't clean.

_Jina: _MAID? SERVANT? Oh, you…! You've got a lot to learn about running a country, as you have no diplomacy whatsoever. Prince Ephraim has more tact than you!

_Innes: _ abruptly silent at the thought that Ephraim was beating him at something

_Jina: _Ha! I win! Anyways, on with the main entertainment!

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_ W.W.C.T. Chapter Thirteen: Lords, Lessons, and Old Friends _

"So, this is the infamous 'Tony', I s'pose." A voice said softly from behind Cian and Oliver, who stood near the fence of the large junkyard, looking out a hole in the wood to see if any more reinforcements were coming. Startled, Oliver turned around, and Cian whipped around with an anxious look on her face.

"Kym? That really you?" she said slowly, peering into the other girl's smirking face. Oliver too looked at the girl, memorizing this new allies' face. Long, blackish-blue hair fell down her back in a braided ponytail high atop her head. Dancing green eyes set in a tanned face looked from Cian to Oliver quickly; finally settling on Cian after her friend spoke. She wore a knee length faded skirt, and an off the shoulder top. Both articles of clothing looked like they had seen better days. Oliver also looked at the girl's face, trying to see past the surface to figure out what this girl was like. Her eyes, while laughing at her friend, were wary, more so when she looked at Oliver. Her face seemed relaxed, but by the set of her jaw Oliver could see that she was guarding herself. She had obviously been taking care of herself for a long time. She also had a stubborn chin, showing that she was independent. Oliver decided he liked her.

"Yeah, of course it's me. I heard about ya and your problems with those messed up Blades again, and I couldn't let you take it on by yourself." Kym told Cian, who at last smiled happily, the first time Oliver had seen her really smile, not smirk.

"But what about Marty?" Cian asked quietly. Kym narrowed her eyes and glanced sharply at Oliver, and then looked back at Cian meaningfully.

"You can trust him. Tony's okay, he knows better than to tell people stuff that ain't meant to be told." Cian told her cheerfully, smiling at 'Tony'.

Kym raised her eyebrows at Cian's praise of Oliver, which made him blush a little. After a moment, though, she smiled easily, and it was apparent that he had gained some of her trust.

"Marty's doing fine, sort of. His sickness is getting a little better; but in our last fight, when my gang and me were trying to help some little kid from being killed by his own stupid father; Marty got hurt 'cause the kid's dad was armed with a knife, and Marty took the hit instead of the little guy. He's already sickly enough as you know, so I'm worried, but I had to help my best friend, meaning you. He's got people to take care of him while I'm gone, and this is important to, it'll keep him safer if we get rid of these idiots." Kym replied.

"Thanks, Kym. I really 'ppreciate it." Cian muttered, looking at her friend gratefully.

Cian and Kym chatted continually about many things, important and not, but Oliver tuned out of the conversation, and tuned into his muddled thoughts instead. Oliver couldn't help but still feel odd. The whole Blade situation, Kym and her brother, Henry, all these people… They were so much like Fire Emblem; it made him wonder if the whole stinking universe wasn't mocking him that his twin sister was lost in a videogame, and that he couldn't do anything to help her, not really. He knew that wasn't it, it was probably just a coincidence, but he still felt angry at the universe anyway. Loryn would have loved to help these kids, but then again…if she hadn't gone into the game, he would never have been forced to run away, and never would have met these people. Feeling lost in his own head, Oliver decided to focus back in on the girls' conversation.

"So, anyways, I hope Marty gets better. I feel bad about draggin' you away from him again when you were just reunited a while ago."

"It's no problem, Cian. We're friends; this is what we're meant to do, help each other survive. Anyways…so, Tony; where are you from?" Kym asked abruptly. Oliver jumped at the sudden change in topic, and then, after recomposing himself, he looked the girl straight in the eyes.

"I'm from a city a couple miles away from here, and I just came here a few days ago. Then I met Mira, a little eleven year old from this pack, and she brought me here."

"Why?" Kym asked, curious. Oliver couldn't sense any more hostility, however. Obviously if Cian trusted him, he was worth being trusted by anyone.

"To help y'all fight, lessen the amount of kids who get hurt by helping ya plan your battles. I'm good at that sorta thing."

"Alright. If Cian believes you'll be helpful, I guess ya will be. Anyways, Cian, who is that guy? Is that…?" Kym asked. Cian turned to see who the other girl was referring to, and smiled softly.

"Oh, that's Henry. You remember him from just a few weeks ago, right? He helped me and you find Salem. Him and his people, they're here to help again, too." Cian replied. Oliver started paying more attention to their conversation again, confused since he had no idea who this "Salem" was, or why the girls kept saying 'again', like they had all joined together to fight someone before.

"Okay. How many people do we have that can fight, anyway?" Kym asked, her eyes still on the figure ambling towards them jauntily.

"Uh, I'd say 'bout fifteen, with the addition of you and your people."

"That's pretty good, I guess. Them Blades still got us outnumbered, though. Plus they got all the older street rats, like all them college drop outs, high school drop outs, and other older people. We're lackin' in number _and_ maturity."

"Yeah, but we'll see, I think we can make it. We have to. You know about what they did, they killed Salem. They're trying to take over the whole stupid city, for whatever reason. We have to get rid of them, for revenge, and to keep them from ruining the lives of everyone living in this city."

"Yeah, I know. I've seen their work too, I know it ain't pretty. Don't worry bout it; and don't worry about your brother either, since even if we can't get his revenge, I don't think he'd have wanted it, anyway. He would just have wanted you to help us all. I barely knew him, since I only met him when I was helping you find him, but I know he was a good guy," Kym said softly. Cian smiled gratefully at her.

Then Oliver cleared his throat to remind them that he was there and had no clue what they were talking about, and that Henry would soon join them. "Now, let's go catch up with Henry. I haven't seen him in the couple of weeks since we all met, just like I hadn't seen you." Kym said, taking Cian's arm and leading her up to Henry, and Oliver quietly followed, feeling somewhat forgotten.

"Hey, Cian. Is this our good friend Kym? Why are you here?" Henry asked Kym. He ran a hand through his originally brown, but now multi-colored bluish dyed hair (Oliver knew that Henry thought he looked tough, but Oliver thought he looked like he got in a fight with an angry beauty-parlor worker), and grinned at her, who snorted back at him.

"Kym is here to help, since we left all the crud that happened last time we were together unfinished. She brought her people to help us fight again, even though they're as small as yours. She and hers bring our number up to fifteen. Kym, Henry, try not to kill each other, okay?" Cian pleaded, exasperated. Kym stared at Henry disdainfully, and he noticed her look and got a defensive look on his face.

"I know all about you and you're reckless fighting. All I'll say is, if you hurt any of my or Cian's people, I'll…"

"Kym! What is wrong with you? He came to help me again, just like you!" Cian scolded, sounding older than her years. Oliver had noticed that, about all these kids. They were not only tougher than his friends back home, but more mature. They had to take care of themselves, and were all the better for it, and smarter.

"Sorry. I don't really know why I said that. Actually, I do. I just don't want him hurting my friends, that's all."

"I understand. Don't worry, I'm not stupid. I aim for enemies, not my allies. I was a big help last time, remember?" Henry snapped, looking angry. Kym opened her mouth to retort, and Cian clapped her hand over Kym's mouth, and grabbed onto Henry's arm to hold him back.

"Guys, guys, guys! Don't fight each other already, we gotta work together, remember?" Cian interrupted. Kym and Henry glared at each other, but each stubborn leader's glare softened when they looked at Cian.

"Alright, Cian. I hear ya. We can get along, I guess." Kym relented. Henry nodded, though he still looked a little angered.

Oliver could imagine them, in comparison to the FE 7 characters; he could see picture them in his mind. Kym was a little like Lyn, and Henry was like Hector. He figured the people they came with reflected the people in the game who joined with Hector and Lyn. But wait, was Cian like Eliwood? She was vaguely like him in her desire to protect and defend everyone, and save them all; but a tougher version of him, just because she was a street rat and he was, well, Lord Eliwood. But did that mean…was this mysterious 'Salem' guy related to her, and had been captured by the Blades and killed?

He had finally decided, after a little thought on all the information he was getting from these three about something that had happened a bit ago, where they had joined together to fight before. Which meant that if this situation really did reflect the game in a modern way, that they had already been to 'the Dread Isle' to find 'Lord Elbert', who died; and that for some reason they had paused in their battles, and were now in sort of the second half of the game where you either chose Eliwood or Hector, and that they were now going to travel around, and eventually take on 'Nergal'. What was going on here? What was happening? How much more could, or would, the creepy magic that had messed up their lives in the first place, powers which neither he nor Loryn understood, screw around with his life?

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& _FE World _&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Lora sighed exasperatedly as she saw still more pirates entered the fray taking place here in Port Kiris; no, wait. She was wrong; these new enemies were those stupid Black Fang guys, led by Damien or someone like that. She remembered him, because he had said very odd last words, something about a rooster crowing, whatever _that _meant. She sighed again, and wiped sweat out of her dirty, bloody face. It didn't help much; she just succeeded in getting more enemy blood smeared on her.

Fighting this battle had taken a lot more out of them, especially from their weapons and other supplies, than usual. What was going on with Oliver? She decided he must be distracted, to make silly mistakes and make things harder on them. But she worried: what would occur if he made a fatal mistake and someone died? What would happen, especially if it was a lord and he had to restart, or if it was anyone else and he restarted anyway? She was almost afraid to find out.

Many battles had gone by since Lora had talked to Oliver about his part in some kind of gang war, and they hadn't really talked about it since; there was no time, really, and they knew it might make them fight, and they saw each other too little to chance that. They had saved and recruited to their cause Lady Lyndis, and then fought their roundabout way to the ocean, Port Badon. Before, Lora and Oliver had both known what awaited them, but now Lora couldn't remember most of it because entering the game had screwed her memory.

Lora's worry grew even larger as she saw Lady Lyn get hit by an axe-wielding pirate; one Oliver would normally have seen and taken her out of the range of. What was he thinking? Was something wrong?

Hearing quiet footsteps, Lora cleared her head of her brother for the moment and focused on the battle. A pirate was steadily coming around the corner of a house she was near, and she had to concentrate if she didn't want to get hurt. The pirate then sprinted toward her, and then he was right next to her, and they were fighting.

The pirate attacked, chopping ferociously at her with his axe, but she easily evaded the slower attacker, and then it was her turn.

Dashing forward, Lora leapt at the pirate, and dug her iron daggers deep into his unprotected chest. Blood sprayed at her as she jumped back to avoid his axe as he swung it wildly around in pain, and then he fell to the ground, dead. Lora wiped the blood from her face and then off of her weapons. She looked around for close-by enemies, but seeing none she again paid attention to the others' battles. Lyn was bleeding from where that first pirate had hit her, but she managed to avoid an archer's arrow as it flew towards her from behind another enemy. Serra and Priscilla were flying about wildly, healing everyone they could get to as fast as they could. Hector had taken a hit, though not a bad one, from a cavalier with a sword, and Eliwood was being attacked by Damien. Luckily, he had his rapier in hand, and he managed to avoid Damien's attack and counter fiercely with a fatal one of his own, slaying the man at last. Erk was bleeding as well, though Lora hadn't seen him get hit. Even Oswin was hurt, which was unusual because of his strong defense.

Lora shook her head. What was wrong with Oliver?

Then, even as she watched, something unthinkable happened: one minute, Lyn was killing a pirate, the next, some demonic little pyromaniac mage was toasting her with his Fire tome. Lora wasn't worried, at least, not until she saw Lyn fall to the ground.

"Lady Lyndis? No!" Lora said softly, in shock. Was she dead? She watched as Priscilla galloped over to her on her horse and jumped off it to see if Lyn was dead or alive and healable.

With a slow shake of her head and a look of disbelief on her face, Priscilla stood up, and said something to Lord Eliwood. Lora just shut her eyes tight. Lady Lyndis; confident, optimistic, spirit-raising, brave Lady Lyndis; dead?

"No…oh, no. What will happen now?" Lora murmured to herself. She knew that when a lord died, the game-player had no choice in restarting the battle. What would that be like, Lora wondered, as the world grew unexplainably dim, would she remember? The world around her faded to black, and she found herself floating in dark and empty space, feeling nothing, thinking nothing, seeing, hearing; nothing.

"Oliver?" she tried to say, but nothing came out of her mouth, if she even had one, for she still couldn't hear a thing.

Suddenly, there was a bright and painful flash of light, and abruptly Lora found herself back where the chapter started, right outside the inn. Confused, she looked around, but none of the people around her seemed flustered by what had occurred. Did they not remember? Lora did, it had been lonely and frightening. Were these people not affected by it, or did they forget it ever happened? Lora decided it was the latter after she heard them speaking the same words they had already spoken before, the first time through this chapter.

Shaking her head, Lora decided to set her confusion aside for now until she could talk to Oliver, and decided to try and concentrate on fighting.

This time, again the same pirate attempted to sneak up on her and then charge her, again, she killed him easily. Again, she watched Lady Lyndis in concern, but this was the first change: Lyn was moved out of the pirate's range, but was hit by the fool archer instead.

"Aha, it is different. How…unnerving…" Lora muttered to herself as she shivered, and then pulled her thoughts into the battle coming closer to her.

A bit away, she saw Serra enter a house, and a few minutes later come out with a man. He had loose flowing dark robes, purple hair, and a monocle. He had the look of being educated about him, in the way he peered curiously at the world around him.

"Canas!" Lora whispered happily. She had always liked his character, and he was the first dark magic user they got on their side. He was very useful to have around, and he reminded her vaguely of a British person.

Smiling to herself, Lora obeyed Oliver's commands and she slunk into another house near her, and got a devil axe for her reward. As she slipped the weapon into her bag underneath her coat to give to an axe user or Merlinus, she saw Damien attempt to take on Eliwood, who was holding his rapier.

"Ha, take that, Damien." Lora said, as she watched Damien whiff when trying to hit the red-haired lord, and then she saw Eliwood brandish his rapier above his head so it caught the sunlight, stepped back, and then lunged forward, critically and fatally attacking the Paladin. Lora regretted that she was too far away to hear his stupid death-sentence, some delirious mutterings about black rooster crowing, or something like that. He was an odd one, that was for certain.

"Lora, move up to that space right there, and make sure you have a vulnerary or something. You'll be in the range of that archer, but I'm sure you can avoid his shots," Oliver called to her as he and Hector rushed past. He was shouting orders and issuing commands like a madman, flying about in a never-ceasing rush to make sure all went well during the battle.

"Hector; go attack that cavalier over there, the one who's near Priscilla." Oliver cried. Lora was proud that, in the thick of battle, Oliver was able to order about even the most powerful of Lords and such to do as he said.

"I do say, there is quite the tumult going on here. Quite barbaric, these brutish pirates are," Came a cultured voice to Lora's left, and behind her, as the purple haired shaman himself walked up to her.

"Indeed." Lora agreed softly, not expecting him to hear her. Canas appeared to have heard her, however, as his curious gaze immediately shot towards her.

"Are you the enemy? If so, I am afraid I must kill you." Canas said to Lora, who only smiled slightly.

"No, I'm with Lord Hector and the rest." Lora told the shaman, who grinned cheerfully at her.

"Wonderful. I am Canas, a shaman, user of elder magic."

"I see. Nice to meet you, I am Lora, um, a _procurer_ of sorts."

"You are a thief? I suppose your specific array of talents must come in useful, then; else you would not be part of this peculiar band of mercenaries." Canas said, only looking intrigued, not suspicious or judgmental of her.

"Oh, I'm not sure I would call us 'a band of mercenaries', really. We're not fighting for money, and we have a cause."

"Indeed? Well, as long as you give me passage to the Isle of Valor, I will be happy." Canas told her, and Lora nodded her head.

"We can get you there, Shaman Canas." She said respectfully.

"Just call me Canas, madam." He replied. Just then, Oliver ran by, with more orders for the both of them.

"Canas, move to that area there and attack that pirate with your Flux. Lora, steal that vulnerary from that archer right there."

"Right away, Sir Oliver." Said Canas, and he went to do Oliver's bidding.

"Sure, Oliver." Lora replied, and ran silently to where the archer and his vulnerary awaited her.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&& At the End of the Battle &&&&&&&&&&&&

"So, Captain Fargus, you'll give us passage?" Lord Eliwood asked smoothly. Hector, standing next to him, was leaning against a fence, looking a little tired, as was Eliwood, and Lyndis, who was standing on the other side of Eliwood. She did not look pleased at all to be getting a ride from pirates, but she knew she had no choice.

"Yes, laddie. Are ye ready? I'd like to be set off now, if ye don't mind." The coarse captain replied, and set off with his men to prepare the ship for a voyage.

"At last, we can go to my father," Eliwood said, though his eyes looked vague and his face wore a worried expression.

"I'm sure we'll get there in time and save him, Eliwood." Lyn said reassuringly, and Hector nodded.

"Are ye all ready to go? We're setting off now." A random pirate said as he came up to them, and then he turned around and went back to the ship. Eliwood turned to his 'army', and said to them valiantly:

"Right then, let's go!"

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&_ The End &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&_

_&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&_

_Author's Notes: _ Hey everybody! Listen, I would again like to mention that I am IMMENSELY sorry I've been soooo super lazy and not gotten this chapter out sooner. Though, I don't know, I'm not sure if it was worth the wait. This story doesn't seem to have much to do with FE7 as much anymore, more stuff with my gangs than the videogame. I hope people still like it, and I'm not confusing or boring y'all. So, please, dearest and most esteemed readers and reviewers of mine, tell me what you think! Be as harsh as you need to, I sincerely want to know the truth of what people think of my story. So, anyways, please please please review, and I may be interested in updating faster if I get reviews (yes, I am willing to stoop to bribery, though it hurts my inner pride. But heck, who needs pride anyway?). Thanks soooo much to anyone who already have reviewed, especially the peoples who have been reviewing from the start. I really appreciate it! Well, I hate long goodbyes, so I'll just wrap it up with: Until we meet again, loyal readers! Aurevoir!


	14. Looking for Love

_** When Wishes Come True **_

_Jina: _hehehe…so…yeah…You all probably hate me for being super lazy and not updating in…well, what's it been? About seven months? Forever? Ah geez, it's worse than I thought! But, I, the Queen of all Excuse-Givers, have a…well gee, what do you know; an excuse. I was in musical (yay Les Miz!), and then, seeing how I consider math a four-letter word and thus was doing not-so-hot in it, I had to work really hard to improve my grade. It was very very hard! We're talking algebraic linear equations and Pythagorean theorems and obscure formulas no one uses outside of the high school math class rooms! And, you know what's funny? I'm not even in advanced math, so it's probably easy to y'all, but to me…well, let's put it this way…my teacher looks shocked and surprised whenever I answer something right. It's pretty sad, I know, but who the heck uses those freaky weirdo algebraic things outside of school anyway if you're not an engineer or a teacher? Oh, am I ranting? Sorry! For a muse, I just have the ever-valiant Eliwood!

_Eliwood: _Hello, everyone. Jina Fate does not own Fire Emblem, so you're not allowed to sue her and take away her money.

_Jina: _What money?

_Eliwood: _ blushes and quickly tries to make me, with my lack of that good old green stuff, feel better Or anything else of value to her!

_Jina: _ sighs Thanks for trying Eliwood. On with the fic…

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

_ W.W.C.T. Chapter Fourteen…Looking for Love _

&&&&&&&&&&&& _Our World _&&&&&&&&&&

"Tony, duck!" cried Cian as a Blade member expertly threw a shiny metal object at his head. Upon Oliver's closer inspection (as it was embedded in the wall where his head had been), he noticed it was a sharp dagger with an elegantly carved handle.

"Funny," he muttered as he pulled it out, "How come the tactician is never in danger in FE, but here I am, dodging daggers and beer bottles alike?" he continued sarcastically. He was not in a good mood. The last few battles between his people and the Blades had been barely won, always a close thing. The odds were against them, and every battle cost them something. Luckily, so far, the fights hadn't cost them some_one._

"'Knock on wood,'" he said quietly to himself. It was a habit he had picked up from his semi-superstitious sister, knocking on wood (why wood? He had no idea) to reverse a jinx. He was not naturally superstitious, but he wascounting on a good deal of luck to get them all through this, and decided not to mess with fate.

He often wished he was just a regular kid again, not a street fighter from a scummy city, with a group of kids' lives in his hands. The only thing keeping his gang from losing was his ideas, his strategies. He didn't mean to sound stuck up, but the fighters weren't much without him. For the sky's sake, they were only a bunch of kids! There were only about three people over twenty! Knowing this, Oliver did everything he could to keep the kids out of true direct combat unless he knew they could handle it.

"Thanks, Cian." He called back as he ran behind a crate to avoid a small explosion from one of Manny's awesome inventions. Pop can bombs that were lit and thrown and that exploded in the enemies' faces; and that gave them a huge advantage. Oliver could only thank every deity he knew that no one in this dirt-poor city could afford guns, or especially ammo. It was the only thing keeping them all from dying, no matter how good his strategies and tactics. He couldn't stop bullets.

"Yo, Velcro, see that guy knocked out cold over there? Go see if he has anything good on him," Oliver said to the small, scrawny boy next to him.

"Finally, some action! Gracias, mi amigo." With a cheerful grin, Velcro scampered off to do this, eagerness lighting up his tan face. Velcro was really useful, even if he was sometimes annoying in the way he couldn't/wouldn't control his kleptomaniac ways. The Latino boy had a real gift for slipping stuff out of others' pockets and into his own with no one seeing.

Oliver looked carefully around the 'battlefield'. He saw Henry, knocking a Blade member into the alley wall viciously, and the enemy's crunched body slid down the wall gracelessly. Henry smirked, and then turned to take on another guy. The boy could be brutal while fighting, due to his extremely protective nature, though he was very reckless, not hesitating to rush into a fight to help a friend.

Kym was a graceful fighter, almost elegant in the way she attacked people. She favored using a short staff of wood with something lethally sharp (so as to kill quickly) to really hurt the Blades, ruthlessly attacking them to save the smaller kids. She also had a fair hand with a slingshot, taking out the enemies from afar when she couldn't get closer. Other far-ranged fighters who weren't strong enough to handle hand-to-hand combat, like Meghan and Phil, would rain down glass, daggers, and bits of concrete from above.

Darin, a tough guy with huge muscles from Cian's gang, was at the moment helping Karter, his (incredibly dimwitted but still fairly useful in combat) brother fend off some more Blade goons. He slammed a piece of plank-wood ripped off of a window onto the head of a Blade, who immediately fell to the ground.

Felicity, the shy girl from Kym's gang, practically flew around the battle. She was an incredibly fast runner, and could jump like no one would believe a tiny thing like her could, or anyone for that matter. (Oliver would have given a lot to have her on his track team back home.) She liked running at people with your basic metal or wooden rod in hand. While timid in a conversation, fighting she had no fears, and was very good at taking out those she hated, like the Blades. Cameron and Sam used basically the same weapons, and right now were teaming up on an especially big and brutal enemy.

Corlin, the eager young thirteen year old from Cian's gang Oliver had spoken to before, was shadowing Jonas everywhere, copying almost all of his movements. Oliver almost had to laugh as Jonas turned around and began a lecture on the right way to fight the other gang. Corlin straightened, attempting to seem taller, and nodded. Jonas just rolled his eyes and went back to fighting, keeping an extra close eye on the small girl behind him.

"Tooo-nnyyyy! Who do you need me to rescue from the edge of death now?" squealed the voice of Kalita, the healer. She wore her supplies in a colorful bag that matched her colorful skirt and top. Her strawberry blonde hair was kept out of her way by two braids on either side of her head.

"Umm, it looks like Karter, Felicity, Corlin, and Velcro could use some help."

"Okeydokey!" and with that last chirp, the cheery girl skipped off to go help Corlin, who was now nursing a cut arm. Felicity's leg was bleeding a bit, Karter had a rather ugly-looking gash in his forehead, and Velcro had a shallow wound from where he was stabbed in the arm. Kalita flitted over there and pulled out her various healing supplies and got to work, chattering in the ears of her victims…er, _patients_…without pause.

"Tony, what do we do now? The few enemies that are left are leaving." Meghan called from her perch in a run-down factory window.

"You and Phil come down here and just wait as the rest of us double check to see if any other Blades are lurkin' about." he called back. He ordered pairs of people about cautiously; making sure the danger was gone.

"It's all clear, Tony." Cian called to him, walking steadily back from checking the nearby allies.

"Ok, tell me we managed to kill their leader, that guy…what was his name?"

"Uh, Arron, I think. He's known for being good at long distance attacks. He's Native American, and rides his motorcycle all the time. He's pretty good, though not high up in the chart of our enemies. He just works for them; he's not one of them."

"That sucks. He seemed like he could have been a cool guy, if he weren't working for evil."

"Yeah, well, what can we do?"

"We're already doing it: getting rid of the evil, so no more innocents and good kids can get hurt."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& _FE World _&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Hi, Lora. Rough day?" said a smugly cheery voice.

Lora looked up from her position, lying on a bed in the room on Fargus' ship that had been cleaned out so the healers could perform their healing magic on after-the-battle patients, and scowled. The battle on the ship against that one magic user was rough, and she was in a _very _cranky mood.

"YOU try having about five arrows launched into your body by a sniper standing where you can't get to him so you can't even defend yourself! It took Erk _forever_ to get over to help me out and blast the nasty sniper to fiery smithereens. By that time, I was a little fuzzy-headed from blood loss and had to have SAIN, of all people, to carry me to Serra. Luckily, I was unconscious, and didn't have to put up with his flirting for once. And now, I have a pounding headache from when Serra talked my ear off while bandaging me. To add to my misery, Bartre was also in there, and tried telling the wall of the room all about his day. He got to what he ate for lunch before he realized he was talking to the wall and not me. Not an experience I wish to repeat any time soon.

"So how was _your _day, Mattie?" Lora exasperatedly spat. The stress of being stuck alone in a room with Bartre and Serra had near liquefied her mind. Matthew's smug grin only intensified in its smirky-ness (a/n not a real word, I know, but…).

"My day was just fine, thanks, even though Guy's pretending to give me the silent treatment for stealing his hair band again. Really, if he didn't want me to take it, he shouldn't have left it right next to my bed-roll. Honestly, you'd think the silly myrmidon would know better by now." Matthew said easily. Wanting to irritate her favorite thief a little (misery does love company, you know), Lora decided to tease him. She stood from the cot in the nursing tent, rather slowly to avoid dizziness, and looked him straight in the eye, a slow grin coming across her face, a mischievous light coming in to her eyes. Matthew looked at her curiously.

"Maybe since you make him so nervous all the time, he gets too flustered to remember anything. You should really try to avoid flirting with him _that_ much, you don't want to seem desperate after all." Lora told him nonchalantly. Matthew scowled.

"Hey, I do NOT flirt! I tease him only because it's so easy, it's amusing! NO other reason!" he growled. It was Lora's turn to smirk.

"Elimine, we're a bit touchy today, aren't we?" she asked sweetly.

"I'll show _you _touchy, little girl!" he said back, and tackled her so she fell to the floor. Laughing Lora shoved him so they rolled over, and she was on top.

"So exactly what are you showing me; how to lose to a girl at wrestling?" Lora provoked him, breathing slightly hard from falling so hard.

"No, how to beat one!" he replied. With a quick twist, he had flipped the over so he was on top of her.

"Oh my, I better come back in a few minutes," Said a shrill voice from near the door, "though Matthew _should_ know better than to...um…_bother_ any of my patients while they're still recuperating."

"Crap, of _course _it _has_ to be the only healer who lacks the tact to handle any sort of delicate situation," muttered Matthew. Lora smirked and nodded in reply. The loquacious (a/n if you don't know what that means, look it up) pink-haired healer would probably tell the entire "army" of what she THOUGHT she saw Matthew and Lora doing, not to do any harm, but just because she felt like it (cough wasn't able to keep her mouth shut cough).

Matthew stood quickly, and helped Lora to her feet. Lora winced at the pain from her wounds while getting up, and for once her fellow thief looked sheepish.

"Sorry, Lor," he apologized. She squeezed her hand that was still held in his to show her forgiveness, then let go.

"Anyways, Serra," the thief said casually, "I just came here to see how my good friend was feeling, that's all." Serra said something under her breath in reply, along the lines of "looked like you were more than _seeing_ how she was feeling, to me".

Lora grinned wryly. No, Matthew did not like her in that way. Lora might feel something more towards him, but he did not return the same kind or amount of affection, she was sure.

"Alright, well, she needs her rest, so please leave us now, Mattie-o. I need to check her bandages." Serra replied, shrilly as always.

"That's fine. See you later, Lora." And with a graceful bow, Matthew swept out of the tent.

"So, I wasn't aware that you and Mattie were a couple," Serra chirped to Lora as she helped her sit down and roll up her sleeve. Lora grimaced, both at the physical pain ad the cleric's prying.

"No, Matthew and I are just friends…" Lora tried to say, but the louder girl continued talking anyway, without a thought about what Lora might wish to say.

"You know, me and him had a little fling together a little while back, but I cut it off," the cleric said, with a couple unnecessary ounces of sorrow poured into her already fake-emotion laden voice, and then she looked pointedly at where the thief had left. Lora sighed and gave up, giving in to Serra's obvious attempts to get her to feel bad for her.

"Why did you cut it off, Serra?' she asked in a bored tone of voice. Serra apparently did not care, or more likely did not notice, and quickly threw her efforts into producing a few tears.

"Oh, it was _so _depressing. The whole relationship just wasn't working out. He was off thieving too often, and I was always busy tending my poor wounded charges, so we never had time for each other. I was finally tired of the emptiness of our once-passionate love, and so I told him that if he didn't bring his sneaky self into House Ostia more often, it was over. He decided he liked his job more than me, and I was left heart-broken." Serra oozed self-pity and fake regret as she told her tale, and Lora was just counting the minutes until the cleric left.

"I see. How terrible for you. Well, I'm awfully tired, so if you would just let me get some sleep, I'll be fine by tomorrow." Lora said pointedly. _Passionate love?_, she thought, _Goodness, that's a frightening idea. Matt and Serra, a couple?_

"Alrighty, I can see you have been exhausted by my exhilarating presence."

"Yes, that was completely the reason I wished you to leave, of course." Lora muttered sardonically.

"Of course that's why! I know these things. So, good luck with Mattie-o, I'll check on you in the morning. You'll be fine." Serra trilled, and exited the room at last.

"Oh yes, you know oh-so-very-much, Serra dear. Elimine, what a trying person she is! I despise gossips. She's going to ruin the little I have with Matthew, and completely eliminate all chances of any future relationship," Lora snarled to herself, "I need to go for a walk, I've been cooped up in here too long."

And with that statement, the girl whisked through the doorway to seek less stressful skies- er, ceilings, all the while making sure Serra was nowhere nearby to yell at her for being up. She stalked (well, hobbled, because her left leg was still bothering her) angrily towards the deck, where she knew most of the fighters would be, enjoying the sunset. They were to reach Valor, also known as the Dread Isle, either the next day or the one after.

Another thing that bothered Lora was the fact that she needed to _remember_ something about the Dread Isle, about Matthew…she wasn't sure, but she thought that she remembered something from when she played the game about something bad happening to Matthew. But what was it?!? For the life of her, she could not recall. Just that it was bad, it hurt him a lot… Even angrier at herself for not being able to remember, she kept grumbling '_Stupid coming into the game making me forget things'_, for her entering the game had modified her memory, she knew. For heaven's sake, she hadn't remembered who she was at first! But remembering this was important, she was sure…Matthew…

_A 'future relationship'? What does she mean? I…do really like her, but…I…I can't like her this much! I love Leila! Leila and I are basically together! I can't cheat on her with an odd little girl from the middle of nowhere. Leila, Lora. What can I do?_ Matthew wished he had never lurked in the hall to hear what Serra thought of the situation. It had only made his confusion even worse than before!

(((((((((((((((((((&)))))))))))))))))))

Walking slowly but steadily, Lora admired the sunset as she meandered through across the deck, looking for someone she might wish to talk to. She headed over to where most of the fighters were relaxing and enjoying the nice night and the small break. The battle on the ship was very difficult, and it took a lot out of everyone who fought. Everyone was glad to relax before reaching the Isle.

Several people were gathered in clumps randomly throughout the deck, and music, singing, eating, and chatter could be heard from all. Hector and Florina sat together on a few cargo crates like many of the others, with Florina sitting so close to him she was practically on his lap. Several people were subtly taking quick glances at the couple with shocked expressions and wide eyes. Florina was rarely seen _talking _to any man, much less sitting so close. Lora was happy that Florina's love could overcome her fear. _Now, if only mine could too,_ she thought sadly. Well, if she were being honest, her multiple fears: her fear of rejection, of what would happen at the end of the game if she was tossed into the real world, of falling for a guy she knew was in love with another woman. _I'm such a fool,_ she thought bitterly.

"Lora, I thought you were supposed to stay in the healer's tent," teased a warm female voice. Lyn was standing nearby, talking to Kent, who looked flustered. The lady enjoyed teasing her favorite vassal a little too much sometimes, and he never understood that she was flirting.

"Would _you_ stay in there all day, only to be bored out of your mind, when you're feeling completely fine?" Lora retorted, and Lyn grimaced in sympathy. Lora felt slightly bad about lying to the always truthful Sacaen lady, but pushed her usually quite quiet conscience away quickly. Besides, the feeling fine part was only a small white lie. She still was pretty sore, especially her left knee where the enemy's arrow had penetrated deepest, but she'd explode if she stayed in a small confined space with Serra too long.

"And so, Erky dear, I truly think that it would be better if…" Lora froze as she heard part of a conversation between Serra and Erk, apparently, and the two were coming closer.

"See you later," she whispered to Lyn. _Think of the devil, and she will come,_ she thought sardonically as she dove behind Hector and Florina's close together bodies, using them to hide from Serra. She would _not_ go back to that dratted room, not even if she were ever bleeding profusely and missing several limbs.

"Serra, all I want is some dinner. I'm tired, and hungry, and not in the mood to discuss anything more with you. Please, go find someone else to talk to." Lora could hear Erk say as he and the demon-cleric approached. Florina giggled at the sight of Lora cowering behind herself and Hector, who was merely rolling his eyes, though a slight smirk played about his lips as well. Lora knew they both understood, though. Nobody, probably not even Saint Elimine herself, could possibly handle being anywhere in the proximity of the cleric for more than ten seconds. Lora could then hear Erk's hurried footsteps as he scurried away from the cleric.

"Is Lora around here? I went to check up on her," '_More like harass me…'_ "And she was nowhere to be found! Then I found Erky, and talked to him while I looked for her. Now Erky's run off to go be antisocial some more no doubt, and I still can't find my patient!"

"My apologies, dearest Serra, but it would seem Lora is not here either. However, feel free to spend some time with me instead, since you can't find her. I'm sure she's feeling fine if she left." Sain said cheerily. Serra looked mildly flattered, and actually considered his proposal from the look on her face.

"Um, sure, Sainy-poo!" Lora winced at this gross pet name, "Since Erk didn't stick around, spending my time with such a fascinating man such as you would be wondrous!" And, with a giggle, Serra dragged off a love-struck looking Sain. Everyone else nearby shuddered.

"Well, that was fortunate. See you guys tomorrow, I'm going to get some rest." Lora told her companions.

"Good night Lora," Florina murmured distractedly, still with Hector. Lora smiled and rolled her eyes as the others bade her good night, and headed off to her room she was sharing with Florina.

She was about to open the door when she felt a presence behind her.  
"Lora? Can we talk?"

&&&&&&&&&&&&&& _The End (for now) _&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

_Author's Note: _Is it sad that it took me seven months to get out a stupid chapter such as this out? I really hate it, and I'll probably fix it at one point, but I've kept y'all hanging for so long (most of my readers probably forgot this story ever existed), so here it is. The only reason I finished is cause I'm sick and home from school (:D), so I finally had some free time. Well, I'll stop boring you and get this posted already. Bye for now! P.s. And don't forget this: PLEASE REVIEW!!!


	15. when All Hell Prepares to Break Loose

_**When Wishes Come True: When All Hell Breaks Loose**_

_Jina: _So, I guess I'll get straight to the point here: I do not own Fire Emblem, nor have I ever, nor do I plan to. Oh, but on a side note, aren't you all proud of me? Updating somewhat sooner? I know I'm not too proud of myself, 'cause its still been like three months, but I won't let seven months go by anymore.

_Lora: _Uh, yeah, unless you get your rear in gear soon, its gonna be like four months,

_Jina: _As if I didn't know that! I'm a busy person, alright? Anyways, I now present to you, the fifteenth installment of my fanfic! P.S. just to let you know, Oliver/Tony and his gang life are almost over, next chapter will probably be their final battle. It's too hard to write both of their stories, his and Lora's. I may go back and add more of his battles after I finish this stupid everlasting fic you're all most likely sick of, but probably not. So, get ready to say goodbye to Oliver's gang buddies for the most part. This chapter is a bit shorter because I wanted to get something up, rather than wait and give you twelve pages. Alright, _now _I present the fifteenth chapter!

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

_When Wishes Come True: When All Hell Prepares to Break Loose_

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&_Lora's World_&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Lora was sitting on the deck behind several barrels and crates and piles of ropes, reading a magic tome of Canas'. Well, more like staring blankly at the same sentence she was pretty sure that she had read at least five times. She was not only bored, but also anxious, and needed desperately to calm down. She had no clue why, but she had a frighteningly strong feeling that something terrible was about to happen. She had a feeling it was a memory from when Fire Emblem was only a game she was playing, but those memories had been lost, just as her childhood memories were becoming more and more unclear.

She didn't like that her past life was fading form her memory, but she didn't really have a choice. It's not like she could just tell her brain not to let anything out of it. But right now, she wished she could. With a passion. Because for some reason she could no longer recall, she knew, truly knew, that something really bad was about to happen, on Valor. It wasn't just the townspeople's superstitious warnings, she knew. It was something more, a memory that was just barely clinging to her, just enough that she could get the feelings it brought from it.

"Lora!" an anxious and quiet voice called to her. "Lora, where are you? The pirates see the Dread Isle, we're almost there." It was Florina, and she had Huey in tow, proof that they were about to leave.

Lora popped her head out from behind the barrels and other things piled in front of her. She had hid there in the first place so she could try to focus and bring back her memories. It hadn't worked, only made her feel more uncomfortable because she was left alone with her negative thoughts. Florina smiled weakly, and Lora could see that the young Pegasus Knight was terrified as well. The Dread Isle was not unworthy of its name, both girls knew, from all the stories told about it. Mysterious objects roaming in the eerie mists that hovered over the ground and in the trees constantly, people disappearing to never be seen again, no wildlife to be found.

"Good afternoon, Lora. I just wanted to let you know that we have arrived because I knew you would need to get your things and stuff like that." Florina told her.

"Thank you, Florina. I will see you in a bit; I have to go gather my things."

"Okay."

Lora hurried to the room she shared with Florina, Rebecca, Lyn, and Fiora. No one else was in there, and any personal items any of them had brought were gone as well. Only her things remained, and she didn't have many. Her extra daggers (she carried two with her at all times), her sword, her bag that carried her vulnerary and anything she happened to steal sat on the bed she had been using. She went over to them, and began putting them in their proper spots on her body: she put her spare daggers in their hiding places, her boot and the small of her back. Her sword she attached to her belt, along with her bag. She was just about to leave when she detected a presence behind her, and turned to face them quickly, her heart pounding erratically.

"Good afternoon, Matthew," she said calmly, not letting on that her already fraying nerves had been even more stressed, and Matthew just stared at her calculatingly.

"You look a little, no, quite a bit nervous, Lora." He told her after a moment or two had passed.

"I'm fine. Just ready to get off of this boat," Lora snapped, and brushed past him to leave the small room. He followed right behind her.

"You don't sound very 'fine' to me. Not only are you irritable, but the supposedly unshakable Lora also appears to be nervous. More than that, you seem anxious. What's got you so riled up?" he asked. She shook her head, the shorter pieces of hair in the front of her head falling forward to hide her face a little.

"To be honest, I don't actually know. I'll be fine; let's get going before we get left on this blasted ship."

They reached the deck, and Lora immediately walked over to the rail of the boat and looked out into the fog. Having a thief's eyesight, she could see pretty clearly through the dense air, clearer than all the other occupants of the ship besides Matthew and maybe the archers. She made out the shape of an island, with lots of trees. They looked cold and hungry to her, not leafy and thriving like a tree was meant to be.

"There's something deeply wrong with this place," she said to herself softly. Matthew, who had heard, nodded. Even he, the cheery and optimistic kind of person that he was, could tell that she was right. Like usual, he thought to himself. He knew Lora had a lot of intuition, and if she thought that something was wrong, then she was probably right. He shivered. She _was _right, his own intuition told him.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&_Oliver's World _&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Oliver sat on a crate, his head cradled in his hands. He had the worst migraine in the history of migraines. His head felt like it was splitting apart.

"Tony, you don't look so good. Maybe we should take a break from looking. We've been wandering in search of that factory Arron told us to find for a while now." Cian told him. Oliver only sighed.

"We can't, we have to keep going. We can't stop now."

"Tony, you're exhausted. We need your brain workin' at its best; you can't keep pushing yourself like this. Something, your brain or your body, is gonna have to give at some point." Cian said exasperatedly. Kalita, standing by her side, nodded.

"She's right, you know. We need your brain functioning correctly; after all, you're in charge of this operation. We have too much at stake for you to overwork yourself and then make some fatal mistake." Kalita, somber for once, added. Usually she was dancing around, hands always busy, but Oliver knew that if she was truly concerned about something, she could be unnervingly calm and collected. That's what made her such a good and strong healer, she could take control of the situation, calming her patient down, chasing away concerned friends, and keeping her own face in an optimistic expression. Oliver knew they wouldn't have gotten this far without her. But, she had no reason to be in 'healing' mode right now; no one was in need of healing, and certainly not him.

"Tony, c'mon, you need to stop pushing yourself so hard. At your present rate of perfect ideas, you have no reason to. You gotta listen to me, its not gonna help us one bit." Cian said.

"Fine, we'll take a break…right after this next fight."

Cian groaned and rolled her eyes, but nodded. This was the best compromise she would get, she knew. The stubborn little good-boy-gone-street was tougher than any of them had imagined when he had first crawled under the fence that led to their hideout.

"Well, I" abruptly Kalita was cut off by Velcro barging into the conversation.

"Tony! Cian! We found that place the one gang leader told us about, the one who said they were gonna be neutral!" he said. His strong Mexican accent and the speed of his words made it difficult to understand him, but Oliver got the gist of it.

"Alright! Good work, Velcro! Let's get going!" Oliver cried, and stood up. For a moment his head was spinning and his eyes were seeing blurs and he was wobbly all over, but then he got control of himself again. He shook his head a little to clear it. He _had _to make sure he could keep up with these street kids, or he would look like a wuss. Plus, they needed him.

He was lost in thought as he followed a cheery Velcro to where he had found the mark of the Blades. Finally, they were getting somewhere. It never took this long to find the old tree or whatever it was that led you to the Dragon's Gate in Fire Emblem. Then again, you also didn't actually have to do all the traveling, another thing that drove him crazy. Real life took so long!

With a dramatic sigh, Kalita followed the overeager and overworked boy as he jogged over to where the rest of Cian's pack rested. She blew a few stray wisps of hair, normally restrained in two neat braids, out of her face. The battles they were going through affected her more strongly than these street kids just like Tony. She had lived a pretty nice, if not perfect, life with her aunt a few towns away, until her aunt had died, leaving no one to take care of her who-knows-where-she-went mom's herbal remedy shop but an eight year old Kalita, who was obviously too young. The shop and the upstairs apartment where they had lived had been taken away, and Kalita had been shoved into a foster home. Hating her life there, after four years she had run away, and found Cian a year after that, at the age of thirteen. Cian had found her hungry and alone and lost, and taken her in. Now, she was fourteen, and as healthy as any kid living on the street could be: not very, with malnutrition and humongous sanitary issues.

The small parade of Velcro, Oliver, Kalita, and Cian had finally reached the spot, where all the others had gathered. Felicity was curled into a ball, her forehead resting on her knees. Carter was lying flat on his back on the ground, one hand over his eyes. Corlin sat with Jonas, talking technique and strategy. Well, Jonas was talking, and Corlin had a look on her still slightly childish face like she was mentally scribbling notes. Oliver was helping Meghan and Phil to their feet, while they double checked for their slingshots. Cian sighed, but much less conspicuously than Kalita had a few moments ago. She knew that a person, even Tony the…tacty dude, or whatever he called himself…tactician, she remembered…well, anyway, even Tony the Tactician could only be pushed so far before he cracked. And that, in their case, would be fatal for one of them, she knew. For the sake of the pack and her and Tony's friendship, she hoped, something that she hadn't done for a long time. She hoped he would get some rest and keep them safe, and she hoped they wouldn't lose one of the kids. There were fifteen of the older ones in the fighter part of the pack, but they were all as close as brothers and sisters. The three babies and six elementary school aged kids were close to them too, but they had been left behind with a few of the older ones, from the pack and the other gangs, who were to try and find the babies an orphanage or something and the elementary school aged ones places to stay as well. Cian had decided to let them be taken away because she didn't want them endangered by the gang war. She didn't want them taken as hostages or killed or anything like that, so she let them go. It was hard, but she knew she had to do what was best for them, not she. So now the gang numbered fifteen, not including Tony. If you included him, they were sixteen. Seven of Cian's original pack (those who were not underage or protecting the younger ones), three from Henry's gang (Garren had stayed to protect younger ones), and the five that were Kym and her friends. Sixteen of them, against all the Blades. It seemed crazy and impossible and ridiculous and stupid, but…there they were, her and Henry and Kym's little army.

"Are we brave, or stupid?" she asked herself.

"If you ask me, senorita, we are both," replied Velcro. His usually cheerful dark eyes were sad.

"I guess you're right, amigo," she told him, sighing. And they were all so young, too. They were thirteen to eighteen (Jonas had just had his birthday), for the most part; way too young to die. It struck Cian as odd that she was considering eighteen old, and yet Jonas' life was just beginning too.

_**&&& Author's Note: I don't know how to do the tilde (squiggle) thing or whatever it's called for 'senorita', but they're there in theory. Sorry! &&&**_

Cian decided to address the 'army'. Waiting for them all to stand up and stretch, she cleared her throat loudly and waited for their attention. Once she had it, she began.

"Well, mis amigos. None of us know what is comin' up for us next, but I think that for the most part," and then she glared at Oliver, "We are all _rested _and prepared, and ready to enter the abandoned steel factory and find the money there that some drug lord hid. But, remember how we killed that one Blade dude, who shared second in command with his brother Milo? Arron, his name was. Well, we killed him a few battles ago, but his brother's still out there. We have to be careful. I have no idea if he's at this factory we're going to, but we still need to watch out. I don't expect a ton of trouble, but I've been wrong before. Okay?"

There was a chorus of agreement from the others, and Oliver joined in half-heartedly. He _did _kind of know what was coming. He couldn't share that with anyone, 'cause he'd be locked away in the loony bin, but he could use that to prepare himself. He couldn't use all his old tactics though. Why not? Real life. Every battle he was afraid he'd be thinking about the game and due something wrong and let someone be hurt as part of his tactics. But in the game there were no germs, so the wounded couldn't become infected. In the real world, no such luck. That part, he hated.

"Tony? Any words?" Cian asked. He stepped forward from the shadows reluctantly.

"I have total faith in all of you. I _know _we can handle whatever happens, good or bad or terrible. We just have to stay strong and keep fighting for what we know is right." Oliver said to them. He _did _believe in them, he just wasn't anywhere _near _as sure about himself.

"We trust you too, Tony," Kym said. He was surprised. He hadn't gotten as close to her as the FE players did with Lyn, because he didn't have the background of fighting to save her grandfather here. He had missed that part of the 'game'. But, apparently, he did have her respect.

"You _know _I trust you completely, Tony." Cian said quietly. He looked into her eyes, and felt something stir inside him. They'd gotten so close the past couple of weeks, and they were really good friends now. Could it be possible that they could be something more? How had he not noticed her great smile, those uniquely beautiful eyes?

"I appreciate that, Kym and Cian. I really do," he replied softly. Kym nodded and smiled, and Cian did as well. She really did have a nice smile.

A tactician couldn't have any sort of romantic relationship with a member of his army, he knew: bad idea, very bad idea. But, was that only Fire Emblem? And what happened if they defeated the Blades, as they were getting closer to confronting for the last time each day? He had to return home at some point, he knew; after the last battle, most likely. He had to go home. Would he be able to let go of the life he had built here? The person he had become?

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& _FE _&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"You know, you're making me nervous," Matthew told Lora as she stood among the others not too far from the shore. She looked up at him, and he could see her worry and distress in her eyes, and in the bags under them.

"Why?"

"Because you obviously haven't gotten enough sleep lately, and you keep practically jumping out of your skin any time someone drops something or makes a loud noise."

"Oh. It's just…I just…I really, _really _don't want to be here. I have the worst feeling things are going to change in a very bad way." She replied.

Matthew could swear he almost saw wetness in her eyes. Lora? Crying? It was a frightening concept, to think of his tough-as-steel colleague breaking down into tears.

But before he could say anything, Hector and Oliver walked up to them.

"Lora, you're to stay here and be on guard. We'll need your sharp eyes to keep the others safe in this fog," Oliver told her, "Be very careful. All kinds of unknown enemies could be and probably _are _lurking in there." Lora nodded solemnly. Matthew only hoped she would be okay. To tell the truth, he was startled by the intense over-protectiveness he felt for her. The idea of her getting ambushed, alone in the fog, was even worse than the idea of her crying.

"What about me? Do I help her?" Matthew asked. Oliver shook his head.

"You're coming with us to scout ahead. The rest of us can't see in this blasted fog," Hector told him, but Matthew wasn't looking at him. He was looking at Lora, whose eyes had grown huge.

"What is it?" he asked her quietly as Oliver and Hector walked away, not noticing Lora's odd reaction.

"Now I have an even _worse _feeling about this," she told him, eyes still too wide and full of worry. Matthew was thinking…was it possible she felt over-protective too? What did it mean for them? But…his beloved Leila…he was true to her. He knew he loved her with his whole heart. He wanted to marry her after this was all over. Better forget his odd thoughts about the tiny little thief in front of him.

"It's okay. We'll be fine, I'm sure," Matthew told her as reassuringly as he could. She only looked down and wouldn't meet his gaze.

"Matthew! Let's go!" Hector belted from somewhere across the area where the troops stood.

"See you later, Lora," Matthew said, and began to walk away. As he was walking, he heard her whisper, "Be careful."

Lora was all upset over nothing, he told himself. What could go wrong? She was virtually safe here, he would see any danger before it saw him due to his excellent vision, and Leila…well, spies were never really safe, but he was sure she knew what she was doing. She was Ostia's best spy, after all.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&_ The End _&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

_Author's Note: _So, what did y'all think? No, I'm not from the south, typing y'all is faster than everyone. As I'm sure you know form the speed of my updates, I'm pretty lazy. Though I'm involved in so many things…half of them I was "volunteered" to do, like volunteering someone is even possible. Whatever. Okay, so this turned out longer than I thought 'cause I felt like putting some Mattie-mental-drama. Poor Matthew, I abuse him so much. Anyways…hey, three guesses as to what happens in FE World next chapter. Yeah, I'm sure you all already know. Let me pretend I'm being all cool and mysterious, okay? And yeah, the gang parts most likely ending next chapter, the chapter after that at the most, 'cause I'm now not only doing two fics at once, but I'm doing a so-cutesy-and-sweet-it-may-rot-your-teeth fluffy Florina x Hector, because I adore that pairing immensely. And I got the inspiration, which is something this story is giving me trouble with. However, I shall struggle on valiantly for my loyal and devoted readers. If I have any left, cause I most definitely don't deserve you guys. You're all so wonderful sniffles and wipes away a tear .So, ahem, anyway, give me some feedback, yes?


	16. Endings and Returns

When Wishes Come True

_** When Wishes Come True **_

_Jina: _Okay, well, I'm not even really gonna talk to youse all this time, because I don't deserve to communicate with other human beings, because I am such a terrible person. How long has it been since I updated? A decade? A millennium? So I'm exaggerating a little, but still. I'm awful. So, without further ado, and with full disclamation of any rights to Nintendo, I present to you the sixteenth chapter of When Wishes Come True.

P.S. This story will most likely be coming to an end pretty soon. This chapter also will most likely be shorter than usual, because it is only going to contain Oliver's world events. Sorry those of you eager for more of Lora's story, there will be plenty of it after this chapter. This is the goodbye chapter to the street rats and Ollie's adventures there, and then there will be a few more based solely on the twins and the whole one-twin-in-FE-world-the-other-in-real-world issue. So, say adios to our lovely little street gang!

P.S.S. I also must apologize; this chapter is not very fan-fictiony. If this seriously offends anyone, I will put in one or two sentences about Lora and the rest of them in FE World, but I just want to get this part of the story over with. My apologies, but bear with me. After this chapter, it's almost nothing but FE World stuff.

WARNING: DOES CONTAIN A FEW RUDE WORDS. MY APOLOGIES

_W.W.C.T. Ch. 16: Endings and Returns_

_Real World_

"Okay, now, don't think of this as a retreat, 'cause its not. We are regrouping for our next attack. We will be fine," Oliver told his troops. His most valuable fighters and healer, Kalita, gathered around him: Cian, Kym, Henry, Velcro, Felicity, Jonas, Corlin, Meghan, and Phil. Everyone else (six people) was off fighting a few streets away, covering their backs against the enemies still lurking around. Oliver surveyed his brave troops. They were all covered in grime, some of them blood, and all of them were looking a little worse for the wear. Cian's nose just stopped bleeding, Felicity was nursing a cut leg, and Velcro had a sprained elbow.

He still couldn't believe they had come this far. He got a similar feeling from playing and beating Fire Emblem, but this was different. This was real. Well, his real, even if it was no longer Lora's version of real. Oliver decided to stop there before he confused himself again, and focused on the situation on hand.

They were in the midst of their final battle. They had gone through a lot already, but were still strong. However, the older, more experienced, and crueler enemy was strong too. The Blades' nefarious leader, Nathaniel, was not apparent at the moment. Kyla and Stefano, his head people, were gone. Stefano had been killed by another rival gang, and Kyla had been killed by Stefano on Nathaniel's orders. The group was taking a moment before Nathaniel appeared to breathe, to get injuries taken care of, and for a much needed pep-talk. They were exhausted, but at the moment it looked like they had a chance of winning.

Oliver was exhausted as well, though more mentally then physically. He wanted to run home and fall into his bed and sleep in comfort and eat real food, and have someone else fix these street rats' messed up lives. But as soon as he though that, he mentally smacked himself. He knew they were more than street rats. They were regular kids doing extraordinarily well in very crummy circumstances.

Stifling a yawn, he continued talking to his 'troops'.

"Listen, I _know_ that we can do this. We can win. We've taken out all the Blades lead henchmen except for their leader, Nathaniel. Once we nail him, we're home free. We've just gotta pull through this last battle. It will be hard. He is very strong, very good at fighting, and very much not liking us for taking out his people. I warn you all right now; he is wealthier than us, so he may have the one thing that would give him the extreme advantage. I don't know for sure, but he may have a gun. I want all of you to be on guard the whole time. If he even twitches his hand towards his pockets, I want you taking cover _right then_! No taking chances! Meghan and Phil, I want you to hang out of sight, like snipers. If he does have a gun, he will try to take you guys out first, for he can't hurt you easily otherwise. Everyone else, have cover in sight and within leaping distance. Kalita, you need to stay behind cover the whole time. Velcro, I want you covering our backs in case he sends for more people, but you need to be ready to come help up front because we may need you speedy attacks. Felicity, Jonas, and Corlin, as our fastest people, if you see someone down, sprint to them and pull them to safety as quickly as you can. Everyone else, just always be ready for my orders, and stay under cover as much as possible. I have utter faith in you; I know that you all can beat the crap out of this guy! Just be safe, don't do anything stupid, and don't act without orders unless absolutely necessary. Are we ready to move?" Oliver cried.

"Ready, Tony," Meghan and Phil replied.

"Of course. We will do whatever it takes," Jonas told him, and Corlin who was a few paces behind him as usual nodded solemnly.

"Claro que si, mi amigo," Velcro told him, winking. Translation: Of course, my friend.

"Yeah, whatever he said, me too," Kalita, and after gazing at the pick-pocket adoringly, she looked up at Oliver and nodded at him, calmness and preparedness visible in her gaze.

"I w-will do my best, T-Tony." Felicity told him quietly.

"Hey, Tony, you're right, we will win; I know it. After all, we're the good guys, and the good guys always win. It's time to get back at 'em for all the harm they've done." This was from Henry, looking eager, but also calm.

"Tony, I haven't known you too long, but for the time I have, we have become good friends, and I know you are a good person. I also know that my friends and I are in very good hands. I have complete faith that you will keep us as safe as you can." Kym told him, dark Native American eyes serious, but not without hope.

At last Cian came over to Oliver, as the others stretched and picked up their odd assortment of weapons.

"Tony…we've been through a lot. I still can't believe we're doing this; avengin' Velcro's friend who gave us the information at the cost of their life, and carryin' on the mission of my brother. I know he would be proud of how far we have come, and why we are doing what we are doing. I think he would have liked you a lot, Tony. We've come so far, and done so much good for all the little kids in this town who did nothin' wrong but had the wrong parents. We _will _win, 'cause I think we're meant to. If not, why would we have gotten this far? So, I just wanted to let you know, I believe in you, and we're all ready to fight, and to win." Cian told him. Her face was solemn, and the sadness always in her eyes even more apparent than usual, but she stood tall, and Oliver knew that they were strong enough to do this.

He moved to the front of their loosely in line pack, and they crept forward into the broken and run down bar that Nathaniel had made his headquarters.

They snuck closer and closer, and finally Oliver caught a glimpse of the vilest man on the streets of the city: Nathaniel himself.

"So, the "little army" has come to challenge me at last. How cute. It's like a kid movie or something," Nathaniel said loudly. Oliver's pack quickly dove for cover, startled at the sudden sound in the midst of the quiet.

Nathaniel laughed. "What are you all scared already? Afraid I have some kind of voodoo powers?"

Henry turned to Oliver. "Is this ducking and hiding deal rally necessary? 'Cause we look like a bunch of wimps, Tony," he grumbled.

"Would you rather we looked like idiots, or like dead idiots?" Oliver hissed back. Henry smiled sheepishly, and focused on sneaking forward again.

Oliver though the plan was going over pretty well as the group continued closer into range of Nathaniel. Suddenly, Cian popped out of her cover, and stood proudly before the drug-dealing, child-starving, psychopathic leader of the most feared gang in the city.

"Cian! No! What is she thinking?" Oliver almost rushed out of his cover to pull her back from the open, but Henry and Kym caught him.

"She's getting her revenge, stupid. HE is the man who stole the only family she had left. HE is responsible for scarring her with the sights of dead children in the gutters and the others dying from starvation as well. HE is the one threatening the pack I know she views as family. What do you think she's doing?" Kym hissed.

"She'll be fine, Tony. She's strong, and she can fight better than almost anyone else I know. She can take care of herself." Henry whispered. "Now, watch."

And Oliver, like everyone else present, watched the scene unfolding before them.

"Hello, Nathaniel." Cian told the Blade leader, her voice strong, head held high.

Nathaniel began laughing. His was not a nice laugh. It was cold, and cruel, and grating. It made Oliver shudder in disgust.

"So, _you _are the "brave defender" of the little street brats? You, a little girl who has nothing, who leads a band of stupid little kids into battle, have come to challenge me? I must say, if you and your little ratty little are trying to make an impression, the only one I'm getting is that you're more suicidal than I had thought. No problems there. I can dispose of you just like I got rid of your brother. It will be, like with your brother, all too easy. He was weak, and would not fight. He wanted me to give in and go away, just like that. No, he was weak, and while your rep is impressive, I'm sure you will be the same." Nathaniel told her. His voice was cold, and bitter.

Cian closed her eyes, and Oliver knew the statements concerning her brother hurt her deeply. But she refused to show her pain on her face.

"You lyin' bastard. You know _nothing_ about what my brother was like. He was braver than you will ever be! You're a low-life, scummy, awful man, and I am happy to let you know that you will be receiving the honor of being killed by the 'little girl who has nothing'. You have done many wrong things, Nate my boy, and now you're about to face the consequences." Cian replied. She pulled out a switchblade, and held it firmly in her right hand.

"Now, I suggest you will either beg for mercy, or you will die like the scum you are deserves to!" she told him. Her face was proud, and her eyes glowed fiercely. Oliver was in awe of her bravery.

It was at this moment that Henry, Kym, and Oliver stood and joined her.

"You are an evil, lying monster, and you will pay," Kym told Nathaniel, and for a moment Oliver would swear that she looked like what he imagined a woman of her tribe in the past must have looked like, fierce and ready to take on those threatening the ones she held close.

"Your little game of pretendin' your some kind of dictator is over, buddy. We're gonna make you pay for every awful thing you've done to the defenseless people of the streets of this city. It's time you got your 'reward' for you how you've been behavin', pal," Henry spat.

"Hello. I'm Tony, these are my friends, and they're really, really pissed off, as I'm sure you can see. We don't intend on holding back because we usually do for pathetic people, because you deserve all the pain you're gonna get" Oliver said, stepping just enough out of the shadows.

"You stupid little kids! I'm not gonna listen to this crap! I was going to take it easy on you, but I don't think I need to. This is the survival of the fittest, and the foolishly brave are not fit to live. Be prepared to lose, and lose badly," Nathaniel replied.

"No, it's _you_ who needs to be ready to lose. I suggest you say your last prayers now, 'cause you're gonna need a whole lot of them if you wanna even _think_ about saving your soul. Though, if you ask me, your soul ain't worth saving!" Cian cried.

Immediately Oliver signaled to Meghan and Phil, and Nathaniel was bombarded sporadically with pieces of glass and metal while the others fought in close combat.

Cian moved first, stabbing her switchblade at him. He managed to duck, and immediately he had to swerve the other way to avoid the stolen carving knife that Henry wielded coming at his face. Kym chucked a broken piece of glass at him, cutting his cheek. The sight of his blood seemed to egg everyone else on, for they all leapt into action.

Jonas and Corlin sprinted to areas on either side of Nathaniel's position, and threw all the wood and metal pieces they could find at him. Velcro shouted insults in Spanish from the back, and from the furious look on Nathaniel's face, he understood Spanish, and the insult was very, very rude.

Kalita stood by Oliver's side for the most part of the fight, though she flitted to the others' sides to help them from time to time. Felicity was flying around, finding weapons for everyone and leaping forward to attack Nathaniel herself as well.

"Oye! Tony! I need help! We've got more Blades coming in!" Velcro cried.

Oliver swore, causing Kalita to have a shocked expression on her face. But Oliver was too busy assessing the new problem to notice. He saw that more Blade members had come in to help their leader, and quickly sent Jonas, Corlin, and Phil to help out Velcro. Once he had observed that he situation was being handled well, he turned back to the main fight…

In time to see many things happen at once, and they seemed to almost take place in slow motion.

Felicity had managed so stab Nathaniel with a broken section of pipe, but he had grabbed her wrist and pulled her near to him to stab with his nasty-looking butcher-type knife. Oliver heard Henry cry "No!", and watched as the boy leapt forward, and pulled Felicity back into him. The two had become very close over the time they had spent together battling the Blades, and Oliver knew that they were in love. So he wasn't surprised that Henry had saved her. Unfortunately, Nathaniel's stab that had been aimed at Felicity's heart dove deep into Henry's arm, causing him to fall backwards, to be dragged from Nathaniel's range (which was not large as Oliver had planned the arrangement of his troops so that the Blade leader was boxed into the corner) by Felicity, who then held him in her arms while they waited for Kalita to reach them. The healer was already sprinting to them, shock on her face.

Oliver understood the shock. The first one of them was seriously injured, and it was their most powerful fighter. Would the state of the battle worsen?

He was also feeling intense guilt. He should have planned better, so that Felicity would never have been in that much danger in the first place. He should have warned her against getting close, too close, so that even her speed couldn't save her. If Henry hadn't stepped in, she would have been dead! Now Oliver knew why Cian had been worried about him being over-tired. It had almost cost Felicity her life!

The fight continued, Oliver running back and forth between the battles. The short flood of Blade members ground to a halt, but he kept his units back there in case more came.

Then, the things Oliver had feared most, happened.

Kym had managed to get her knife lodged into Nathaniel's side, but he had also gotten his knife into hers. Deeply. She stumbled back, clutching at the heavily bleeding wound, and fell.

"No, Kym! You already hurt Henry, not Kym!" Oliver heard Felicity cry, and then watched helplessly as she threw herself at Nathaniel, wielding a pocket knife he had not known she'd had. Oliver had known the two girls were close; Kym had told him that she was all Felicity had, after her older sister had been killed, and Kym was her replacement sister.

Nathaniel threw the tiny but suddenly ferocious girl from him, a long gash courtesy of her anger oozing blood down his face and into his eyes.

"You rotten little brats! You will _all _pay!" he hissed.

It was then that he drew the gun.

Kalita screamed, and Oliver went cold, icy cold, so cold he couldn't feel or move. He couldn't believe this was happening. He couldn't turn off his Game Boy and save her if she died. If anyone died, they were just that…dead.

A shot was fired.

&

Oliver couldn't believe it.

He just couldn't; his brain wouldn't accept it.

Everyone, everything was still.

Cian was the only person still standing, everyone else had dived to the floor the moment they heard the shot.

Felicity was still sprawled on the floor where she had been thrown, her eyes still squeezed shut tightly.

Then, with a sudden burst of movement, she breathed in wildly, a hoarse gasp that startled everyone, eyes flying open.

And that was then Oliver noticed two things.

One was Nathaniel lying on the floor, gun in hand…a pool of blood spreading from beneath him.

The other was Cian…with a smoking gun in her hand.

"Oh…oh…" she whispered. "…I just killed someone…"

And she collapsed, only to fall into the arms of Oliver, who was finally able to move again.

&_& Later_ &

"Officer, you've got to understand, this is the first person killed throughout this whole thing! Everyone else we injured, yes, and got rid of that way, but not killed them! It was all in self-defense!" Oliver said rapidly.

"Relax, young man. We believe you. We've known of the awful things the Blades have been doing for months. But because this city is so economically lacking, we didn't have the manpower, or the opportunity, to deal with it. We also had no evidence to prove we knew he was a murderer; we couldn't find anything substantial. But know, we have the body of the most hated gang leader in the city with a gun in his hands that I will bet matches the bullets found in the other bodies, and that is quite evidence enough, I believe. Thanks to you and your friends, I will add." The police woman replied. Oliver, Cian, and the rest of the gang (besides Henry and Kym, who were in the hospital) were sitting in the police station, answering the officers' questions as best they could.

But now that the whole story was out, Oliver wanted answers himself.

"What's gonna, er, going to happen to all these kids now, and the ones back at the hideout? Where are they going to go?" he demanded.

"Well, they will all become wards of the state, and sent either back to their families if they're runaways-" Oliver gulped "-or put into nice foster homes and adopted."

"Okay, that's all right then." Oliver replied, sighing ion relief. Cian's hand, which had been gripping his tightly with nerves, loosened its hold slightly, but she didn't pull it from his.

"And you, young lady, you can have a choice, since you are old enough. You can go into a foster home, or choose to go to a kind of boarding school run by the state for all the children not in foster homes." The police woman told Cian. Suddenly her hand was gripping his tightly again.

"Um, I think…I want…to find my family." Cian said at last. The police woman looked startled.

"You're a runaway?"

"No. My parents died when I was about…five, I think; no one came to claim me or my brother, and when I was eight I ran away from the neighbor's house where I was staying. But I think I might have an uncle or something. I can't remember for sure, it was a while ago."

"What about your brother?"

"He's…gone."

"I'm so sorry. We will do everything we can to help you. Can we have your full name?"

"I think its Cian…Firwood. Yeah, that's right. Man, no one's called me by that name in ages."

"All right, Cian. We'll find your family for you." Cian smiled, relieved at the news, and Oliver was intensely happy for her. She deserved a family, with her loyalty and bravery and kindness.

"And what about you, young man? What's your story?" the officer asked. Oliver sighed.

"He's a runner. He's got a family somewhere," Cian said quietly.

"You have to tell us who you are and where your family is. No one belongs on the streets, especially if they've got a family looking for them and a home to go to."

"…okay. My name is Oliver Crowe, and I live a couple cities away."

"Oliver?!" Cian asked, confused. At the same moment, the officer jumped up.

"Hey! You're the kid they've been looking for, the one all over the news! This is great, your parents were so worried," the officer said excitedly.

"Your name is _Oliver_?" Cian repeated.

"Let me go call them up right away. Cian, I will tell one of my colleagues to get working on finding your family right now. I will be back shortly. Feel free to grab some coffee or something," the kind policewoman told them, and she hurried form the room.

At last it was just Oliver and Cian. There was silence for a few moments, and then Cian said,

"I can't believe your name is Oliver."

Oliver sighed. "Well, you better believe it, 'cause its true."

"Why'd ya lie about it? Why did ya say you were some kid named Tony?"

"Because 'Oliver' doesn't sound very tough, and I didn't want to sound weak in front of a bunch of hardened, tough street kids."

"…uh-huh. Ya know, sometimes, you really worry too much about appearances, kid," she told him.

"Well, listen to you, sounding like you did when I first met you, calling me kid and using pretty much the worst grammar I've ever heard. But that's a lie; you know how to talk right."

"So what? Maybe I wanted to seem tougher too," Cian replied, and they both grinned.

"Hey, Cian…"

"What?"

"This has been bothering me… where did you get that gun?" As soon as he said those words, the friendly atmosphere darkened, and Cian grew quiet, and the sad look that was almost constantly in her eyes returned.

"My brother left it to me. Before he left on that final "mission" thing of his against the Blade members, he told me about it. He had it hidden away so I couldn't find it and hurt myself, and so it wouldn't get stolen. He said I was only to use it if I were in really big trouble, or if someone I knew was. I figured my friend Felicity almost being shot counted, so I…used it…" Cian grew very, very still. "I…used the gun…I shot someone…a real person…" She looked up at Oliver, tears shining in her eyes. "I killed someone…" And then she proceeded to burst into tears.

Oliver was in shock. Cian, tough, strong Cian…crying? But then he considered it. How would he feel if he had just taken another human being's life? He didn't really want to know. He didn't want to think about it. But what should he do about Cian?

He ended up doing the only thing he could think of doing. Even as exhaustion began to force his eyes shut, he took her into his arms, and held her while she cried.

&

"O-Oliver?" He looked up from where he had been dozing, Cian leaning on his shoulder as she slept. And there, in the doorway, were…

…his parents…and they were doing something he had only seen them do once.

They were crying.

"Well, what are ya waiting for? Go see 'em." A voice whispered in his ear. Apparently, Cian was no longer asleep. She pulled herself off his shoulder, and gave him a push.

"Go on; go give them the hug I wish, everyday, that I could give _my_ parents." She continued. He nodded, and then stood slowly. He took one small step forward, and in one abrupt rush his parents were engulfing him, their arms wrapped around him so tightly he could barely breathe.

"Oh my son, oh my son," was all he could hear his father saying. His mother was sobbing hysterically.

"We're so incredibly thankful we found you, Ollie," his mom managed to say. She continued,

"We're so glad you're coming home. We forgive you for leaving, and we still love you. Never forget that. We will always love you." She told him.

"I'm sorry," he told them. And he really was. He had been so irresponsible, so immature, so selfish, only thinking of himself. Now, his time on the streets had opened his eyes, and he knew he had done a lot of growing up.

But now, now he could tell himself the words he had been longing to for so long…

'_I'm going home, I'm going home…'_

&_ The End _&

_Author's Note:_ Okay, so I warned you at the beginning of this chapter that I didn't think it would be a long one, and now look: 15 and a half pages on Word! No puedo creerlo! (Translation: I can't believe it!). Well, so much for a short chapter. All right, I hate goodbye scenes, so I'm not going to write one for Oliver and Cian. I know, I know, how awful am I? But I hate goodbyes in person, so I rarely ever write them either. No worries, I will give you a little epilogue of the street rats' fates in the next chapter. I was going to include all that in this one, but it got too long, so I didn't. By the way, in case y'all couldn't tell, several hours passed between Cian talking about the gun and Oliver's parents coming. They fell asleep. I just wasn't sure if you all caught that, so I thought I would point it out. Well, I'm sure no one is actually reading this because of my awful timing with the updates, but what the heck, I'll continue updating whenever I can. I do have good reasons for why I can't update so often, but I'd rather not spill my personal life and everything. Well, I will tell you that I'm uber busy. All the time. And these things take me awhile to write and check over. So, please forgive me for being such an amazingly awful author (heh heh alliteration). I will do my best to update with speed. Thanks for reading! Please review! Yours Truly, Jina Fate

P.S. I'm uploading this without giving it a complete check over for errors, only because it is getting late and I'm tired and you guys all really really deserve another chapter, whether it has perfect grammar and spotless punctuation or not. Mostly likely or not in this case. My apologies, I _am _going to go back through all my chapters after I've finished the fanfic and edit them some more. Thanks! 


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